A War Worth Fighting
by Dancer98
Summary: What will happen when James and Albus Potter both fall for a girl with a troubled past? Which one of them will she choose and, more importantly, will the Potter family remain intact? Or will the war of love ruin the family forever?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Ayla leaned over her textbook, taking copious notes on the section she had just read on the Battle of Hogwarts, absentmindedly tracing the rough scar on her shoulder with her fingertips. She shut the book entitled _Hogwarts, A History: 2019 Edition_ and made her way towards the door of her large bedroom, pulling the sleeve of her shirt back over her torn apart shoulder. The short, thin, raven-haired girl made her way to the kitchen and picked up her Hogwarts letter off the marble countertop, admiring the dark red ink on the parchment, inhaling the scent of the worn paper. Her excitement quickly turned to annoyance as she peered into the small basket next to the door and saw that her mother's keys were still missing. Tomorrow was her first day at Hogwarts and her mother hadn't come home in weeks. Ayla hadn't even gotten a chance to tell her yet. She had called her countless times on her cell phone and swore that if she heard her mother's voicemail one more time, she might just punch a hole in the perfectly painted walls of her mansion.

She heard the sounds of footsteps clicking towards her and she turned to see David, her family's butler, approaching her.

"Are you all packed for the big day tomorrow?" he asked and a broad grin spread across Ayla's face as she became distracted from her mother.

"Yeah," she answered, beaming. "I can't wait."

"I'll bet," he said, returning the grin. "Hey, I know that you know this already, but I care about you, do I have to tell you."

Ayla looked at him deeply, bracing herself for an emotional conversation.

"You've been through a lot," he began and Ayla looked down, sighing. "And you're the strongest person I know," he continued. "Just make sure you don't let anyone get to you. You are an incredible kid, Ayla. Never forget that, kiddo. You know I love you, right?"

Ayla nodded, understanding exactly what he meant despite the vague way he had phrased his speech so as to avoid bringing up any of the tragic events in the past. "Thanks, David. I love you, too."

Ayla stepped forward and hugged the man who was the closest to a father that she had ever had.

He looked into her eyes. "You're so strong, sweetheart. No one would ever guess by looking at you everything you've been through." He looked around at the mansion that surrounded him. "Looking at the way you live, you'd think that you were lucky. But…"

"I _am _lucky," Ayla interrupted. "I'm lucky to have people like you in my life. Sure, I've been through some stuff, but I've got some great people by my side." He didn't answer and she relented. "Yeah, but money isn't everything," she admitted quietly.

David nodded sadly and pulled her in for one more hug. Over his shoulder, Ayla's eyes settled once more on the empty key basket that proved her mother was still out.

_I should be used to it by now_, Ayla thought, _but I have to say I'm not_.

Ayla checked her watch as David unloaded her luggage from Hayden's trunk. It was 10:47 AM and she had thirteen minutes to catch the Hogwarts Express. As David set the final piece of luggage on the trolley, he and Hayden both turned to her somewhat awkwardly.

"Well, I guess I'm off," she said softly, drifting slightly towards her luggage.

Hayden smiled sadly and leaned down to hug her tightly. "I'm so proud of you, Ayla. I know you'll do great at Hogwarts."

"Thanks, Hayden," she thanked her driver. She turned back to David. "Bye, David," she said quietly, and hugged him as well.

She checked her watch again, looking around King's Cross Station as the three of them fell silent. She rose onto her tiptoes, straining her neck and searching around the crowd.

"You're looking for her, aren't you?" Hayden asked softly and Ayla looked up at him, ready to deny it. But the look in his eyes told her that it was no use. He already knew she had hoped her mother would show up even before she knew herself.

Ayla lowered herself back down, looking disappointed. She shrugged slightly. "Well, I'll, um, I'll head to the train."

She rose onto her tiptoes again to hug both of them together, then grabbed her trolley and pushed it towards the brick barrier that she had read about so many times. Before reaching it, she turned, smiling softly, and waved to Hayden and David, who both smiled bracingly and waved back. She closed her eyes, turned back to the barrier and dashed through it, holding her breath in fear. She glided through it with ease, feeling no pain whatsoever. A breath of relief escaped her throat as she made her way toward the train.

Ayla nervously boarder the train, lugging her bags with her. She stopped at the first empty compartment she saw and entered through the glass doors, pushing the bags up onto the high shelves above the windows. She collapsed onto the plush red seats, closing her eyes momentarily and running her hands through her hair. As her hand neared her neck, she felt the protruding scar on the side of her neck below her earlobe and winced slightly at the memories this triggered. She shook her head and pushed the thought out of her head, focusing on the excitement she felt for the year ahead of her. She found herself grinning as she thought of Hogwarts castle. She hardly noticed the knock on the compartment door, and turned as she heard the glass sliding aside. A shy looking girl with fiery red hair stood in the doorway.

"Hi," she said quietly. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"Sure!" Ayla exclaimed sweetly, sitting up straighter. "I'm Ayla Torres-Almendarez."

"I'm Lily Potter." She stepped aside to reveal the boy behind her. "This is my cousin, Hugo."

Hugo waved. "Hey."

"Are you guys first years?" Ayla asked and they both nodded fervently, the fear becoming visible on their faces. "Me too," Ayla said, inhaling deeply.

There was another knock on the compartment door. This time, a boy with light brown hair was standing in the doorway.

"Hi," he said. "I'm Liam Taylor. Do you mind if I join you?"

Ayla slid over to make room for him and he sat next to her. The other three introduced themselves to him, and they all lapsed into silence for a moment.

"So, what are you guys?" Liam asked. "Pure-blood, half-blood…?"

"I'm muggle born," Ayla answered first.

"Pure-blood," Lily and Hugo answered together.

"I'm half-blood," Liam told them. "My mom knew my dad was—" he began, but was interrupted by the compartment door opening again. He leapt up when he saw who was in the doorway.

The boy in the doorway lunged towards him, throwing his arms around him and clapping him on the back.

"Yo, man, what's up?" Liam cried, smacking the other boy's shoulder.

"Not much, it's been forever, dude!"

Liam turned back to the others in the compartment. "This is my best friend, Bradley Cade." He covered his mouth with his hand jokingly. "Don't worry, you'll get used to his being an ass."

Bradley scowled playfully and leapt onto his friend's back, mussing his air and putting him in a head lock. Liam attempted to throw him off as the others laughed at their brotherly wrestling.

The two of them sat down after a heated wrestling match that ended in a fit of laughter, flopping onto the seats next to Ayla.

Ayla twisted her head to look out the window as they pulled away from King's Cross Station. With one last lingering wave to Hayden and David, she left her home life and the horrors of her past back in London.

_Just for a little_, she told herself. _Just for a little, you can escape your problems. _


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

After a long train ride that consisted of mostly eating and laughing, Ayla knew that she had just made some friends that would last a lifetime. It was so great to meet people that couldn't judge her based on her past. At home, everyone knew about what had happened to her. But here, she had a fresh start. With the relief of this revelation, Ayla felt more light-hearted than she had in years as Hogwarts castle loomed into view from the window of the train.

"Wow," Liam breathed, looking over her shoulder at the beautiful view. "That may be the most incredible thing I've ever seen," he admitted.

"It's beautiful," Ayla whispered in awe. Her heart leapt as she caught sight of the Quidditch field. She imagined the feeling of her sleek broom in her hands. The broom that she had shrunk down to sneak in her suitcase, as first years generally weren't allowed to bring brooms to Hogwarts.

Lily moved to Ayla's side of the compartment to peer out the window. Her jaw nearly dropped as she saw the castle.

"It's so pretty," she said softly.

"Everything about it is perfect," Ayla agreed. "The way the clouds brush the top of the highest terrace…the greenness of the grass below the castle…the stained glass window up there…the way the sunset is reflecting off the windows; it's just perfect."

Bradley interrupted her awe-induced trance with a snort. "It's a castle, guys. Don't go all unicorns-and-rainbows on me, alright?"

The other four passengers in the compartment turned to stare at him.

"What?" he demanded.

"This place is majestic, Bradley," Hugo interjected. "We're not being unrealistic or anything; just look at it." He gently pushed Bradley toward the window, who smirked and shoved his hands in his pockets, leaning down reluctantly to gaze at the view.

His know-it-all smirk faded into an awed expression, his eyes softening and his lips parting ever so slightly. "Oh, my gosh," he said softly.

"Wow," Liam said. "You know something is incredible when it shuts _Bradley Cade _up."

Bradley spun and smacked him alongside the head, initiating another playful wrestling match. Ayla laughed and sat back down between Lily and Hugo. She gazed out the window as they neared the castle.

"I'm going to go change into my robes," she said, reaching into the top pocket of her suitcase where she had packed them. She exited the compartment and looked down at her watch as she walked to the bathroom. There was a line of three people waiting. The first two were in conversation, and the boy in the back was gazing around, looking bored.

Ayla gave him a small smile as they made eye contact and stepped in line behind him.

"Hi, he said, turning to her. "I'm Mason Brett." He stuck out his hand and she shook it.

"I'm Ayla Hayes," she said, then realized her mistake. "Torres, sorry! Ayla Torres."

He looked confused and she sighed. She had to get into the habit of using her mother's last name instead of her father's.

"Are you a first year?" Ayla asked, removing his focus from her slip-up.

"Yeah," he said grinning. "You?"  
Ayla nodded, grimacing nervously. He laughed in agreement.

"So do you know what house you'd like to be in?" he asked her.

"I think I'd have to go with Gryffindor. What about you?"

He grimaced, clapping his hand over his heart jokingly. "Slytherin!"

Ayla jokingly shook her head disapprovingly. "I guess _we'll _never be speaking again," she joked, laughing.

"Ah, damn!" he laughed. The bathroom door finally opened and he grinned at her. "It was nice to meet you. I'll see you around Hogwarts, hopefully."

He ducked into the bathroom and Ayla let her smile slowly fade. The second bathroom opened up and Ayla walked in, shutting the door behind her. She turned to the mirror and fixed her hair for a few moments before pulling off her V-neck shirt. She pulled on a solid black tank top and shrugged her cloak over her shoulders, leaving her dark skinny jeans on. She tucked a free piece of her thick black hair behind her ear and exited the bathroom, holding her shirt. She re-entered the compartment and shoved the shirt into her trunk, sitting back down next to Lily. The train was nearly at Hogwarts, and the sky had begun to darken. Ayla pulled her knees up to her chest and gazed out the window again.

_This is going to be the best time of my life_, she thought. _I've finally found my escape. _

The train came to a somewhat rough halt across from the castle. There was a large lake between the train tracks and the beautiful school. Ayla stood on her tiptoes and reached for her luggage. Liam put his arm on her shoulder to indicate for her to step aside and he swung the trunk off the shelf for her.

"Thanks," she said, rolling the suitcase with her as she disembarked the train. As she shopped onto the pavement, she found herself face-to-_knee _with the largest man she had ever seen in her life. Her eyes widened in disbelief at his humongous frame.

"Firs' years!" he was yelling. "Firs' years, ter the boats! Four of ye' ter a boat!"

Ayla exchanged a glance with Lily, who was beaming at the man.

"Hi there, Hagrid," she greeted him and he leaned down to clap her on the back so hard that she fell forward. Ayla caught her and straightened her back up.

"Lily! Hugo!" he exclaimed.

"You guys know each other?" Ayla asked and Lily nodded.

"He was super close with our parents," Hugo explained, grinning up at Hagrid.

Hagrid looked at them studiously. "Alright, just because I love ye' two, ye can fit five in a boat. Take the one on the end, it's a little bigger. Can't be seperatin' you two, now can I?" he said to Lily and Hugo.

"Thanks, Hagrid," they said together, walking towards the boat. Liam hopped in and helped Ayla into it courteously.

She smiled at him and stepped back as Hugo and Lily gripped each other as they climbed in. Bradley hopped in last on the far left side.

"Whoa!" Ayla clung to Lily's arm and Brad flopped down.

"You can't stand on one side of the boat, dumbass, it'll tip!" Liam exclaimed and Brad scowled at him.

"So, do we get, like, an oar type thing?" he asked, leaning behind Ayla to see if there was anything along the side of the boat.

Liam shrugged, looking around, but before he had time to respond, the boats began drifting toward the castle.

"They're magically powered," Ayla explained. "I read it in _Hogwarts, A History_."

"That…makes sense," Bradley said, settling further in his seat.

Ayla turned toward the beautiful castle, illuminated by the moon, begging her brain to memorize the most incredible image she had ever seen, never wanting to forget what she was looking at right now.

As the boat came to a slow halt behind the boat in front of it, she saw a tall, thin, frail-looking old teacher wearing long, velvet, emerald green robes.

The new students all clambered out of the boats and onto the green grass in front of them. Once all of the students had disembarked the boats, they set off back towards the train. The woman in the green robes turned towards the crowd in front of her.

"Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am Minerva McGonagall, your headmistress. Follow me inside, where we will proceed to the Great Hall for the sorting ceremony."

She turned and her green robes trailed behind her as she led them through the enormous front doors of the sprawling castle.

Ayla felt her stomach twisting with nerves as they passed through the equally enormous doors to the Great Hall and saw thousands of eyes fixed on them. She slowly let out her breath as they walked through the aisle between four long wooden tables and neared a table filled with professors. Ayla shifted uneasily, feeling very exposed and vulnerable.

Headmistress McGonagall ascended the three steps separating the staff table from the four student tables and turned to face the sea of first years. Next to her was a four-legged stool with a rough, patched hat lying on it.

"Now, when I call your name, you will sit on the stool here, and I will place this hat on your head. The hat will sort you into one of the following houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw." She cleared her throat and stepped to the side, unrolling a large piece of parchment.

"Blake Aeribella."

A pale girl with dark hair walked up to the seat nervously. She sat down. The hall was silent, but the emotions on the girl's face were changing as though she was seeing or hearing something. Ayla looked around.

A booming voice echoed through the hall. "Ravenclaw!"

"What just happened?" Liam demanded, his head whipping around.

The table on their far left applauded and several students stood to shake her hand as she moved to sit with them.

"Logan Asher," Professor McGonagall called.

A boy walked up to the stool, a smirk on his face. McGonogal placed the hat on his head and, after just a moment, the voice came again. "Slytherin!" The boy grinned and walked over to the Slytherin table, hearing a small applause.

Bradley leaned towards Ayla to whisper in her ear. "What the hell is going on?" he asked, sounding horrified.

"Not sure, but you're up soon," Ayla whispered back.

"Keegan Blaire."

This was a shy-looking boy with brownish hair.

"Hufflepuff!" The voice announced and the Hufflepuff table applauded politely, a few people sliding over to make room for him.

"Aidan Brady."

"Ravenclaw!"

Still confused as to where the voice was coming from, Ayla continued to look around the room to find a source of the voice.

"Nathan Brooks."

"Gryffindor!" This table applauded most of all, and the thunderous sound echoed through the long hall, impressing the crowd of first years.

"Sapphire Brynn."

A pale girl with very dark, long hair and pale, icy blue eyes walked up to the stool and placed the hat on her own head.

After a moment, Ayla heard, "Slytherin!"

The girl stood up and walked over to the Slytherin table.

"Bradley Cade."

He looked at Ayla nervously and her eyes widened.

"Good luck," she whispered as he shakily approached the stool.

Brad winced as the hat touched his tanned forehead and his leg shook anxiously.

"Gryffindor!" The voice declared and Bradley jumped off the stool and ran towards the second table from the right, relief flooding his face.

"Trey Carson."

"Ravenclaw!"

"Tucker Chace."

"Hufflepuff!"

"Sophia Chariot."

"Gryffindor!"

"Bronson Dallas."

"Hufflepuff!"

"Dustin Elliot."

"Slytherin!"

"Shane Elliot."

Ayla wondered if the boys were brothers. She stood on her tiptoes to compare their appearances. Shane was tanned, with shaggy dark hair, and wore a grin, while Dustin had pale skin, trimmed dark hair, and an icy glare.

"Ravenclaw!"

"Lexis Faith."

"Gryffindor!"

"Bridgette Gwendolyn."

"Ravenclaw!"

"Wendy Harper."

"Hufflepuff!"

"India Haven."

"Ravenclaw!"

"Francia Hayden."

"Slytherin!" the voice shouted before the hat even brushed the tips of her curly black hair.

"Payton Hunter."

"Gryffindor!"

"Kelsey Ivory."

"Hufflepuff!"

"Emerson Jade."

"Slytherin!"

"Preston James."

" Hufflepuff!"

"Celia Justice."

"Gryffindor!"

"Tristan Kennedy."

"Gryffindor!"

"Brett Kingston."

"Hufflepuff!"

"Jackson Levi."

"Slytherin!"

"Quinn Logan."

"Gryffindor!"

"Honor Marie."

"Ravenclaw!"

"Katie Marshall."

"Gryffindor!"

"Kirsten Memphis."

"Hufflepuff!"

"Kendra Noel."

"Ravenclaw!"

"Cassandra Paisley."

"Slytherin!"

"Christian Parker."

"Ravenclaw."

"Jocelyn Pearl."

"Gryffindor!"

"Lily Potter."

Ayla grabbed her shoulder bracingly before she approached the stood. Ayla raised onto her tiptoes to see Lily being sorted. As the hat rested on her red hair, the booming voice bellowed, "Gryffindor!" and Lily leapt up, grinning hugely and ran toward the Gryffindor table.

"Emily Putman."

"Gryffindor!"

"Jasmine Rae."

"Slytherin!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Leighton Reese."

"Ravenclaw!'

"Carl Shea."

"Gryffindor!"

"Courtney Spade."

"Slytherin!"

"Brooklyn Sienna."

"Ravenclaw!"

"Liam Taylor."

Liam exchanged an anxious glance with Ayla, Lily, and Hugo, and started towards the steps. Ayla stood on her tiptoes to watch him as he sat down nervously.

"Gryffindor!" the voice declared and he jumped up, beaming.

"Ayla Torres."

Ayla felt frozen where she stood. Hugo nudged her forward and she trembled violently as she ascended the marble steps and seated herself on the stool. Her shaking hands gripped the wooden stool, the splinters piercing into her palms.

"Hmm…" she heard, and gasped, realizing the voice had come from the hat. Could everyone else hear what the hat was saying? "Difficult…" it mused. "You've certainly got the mind to be in Ravenclaw…" it was silent for a moment. "Oh, what's this, a memory? Hmm…based on what I see you've been through, I'd assume you're a hostile person." It was silent again for another moment. "But you're not. I would have pegged you for a Slytherin, but you've got a big heart. I'll have to go with…Gryffindor!"

Ayla jumped off the seat, beaming, and dashed toward the Gryffindor table, where she sat between Lily and Liam, and across from Bradley, who was flanked by two dark-haired boys.

"Austin Trenton."

"Gryffindor!"

"Sheila Violet."

"Slytherin!"

"Hugo Weasley."

His teeth clacked nervously as he sat down. Almost immediately, the booming voice declared, "Gryffindor!"

Lily cheered as Hugo nearly sprinted toward the Gryffindor table, sitting on Lily's right side.

"Kylie Winter."

"Ravenclaw!"

"This concludes the sorting ceremony," McGonagall announced. "I will now introduce the head of each house, who will announce the prefects from their own house. First, the head of Gryffindor house, Neville Longbottom."

Lily and Hugo applauded loudly and Hugo whistled, clapping. Ayla looked at them, confused.

"Neville's one of mine and Hugo's dad's best friends," Lily explained.

Professor Longbottom approached the podium, waving awkwardly. He cleared his throat.

"It's, uh, it's an honor to be up here," he said. "It's my first year as a house head. I was a herbology professor for years and I finally got promoted, so this is really cool for me." He cleared his throat again, looking down at his parchment. "The prefects for the Gryffindor house are Clara Jennings and Joseph Carter."

The Gryffindor table applauded loudly, with scattered claps from the other tables, as the two fifth years approached the podium and shook hands with Professor Longbottom and McGonagall.

When the applause died down, the two Gryffindor prefects stood to the side with Neville and McGonagall returned to the podium. "Alright, next, I would like to introduce the head of Hufflepuff house, Ernie MacMillan."

A blonde haired man approached the podium. "Hi, I'm Ernie and I teach Charms, and I'm also head of Hufflepuff. I'm pleased to announce the prefects for Hufflepuff; Jennifer Hoechlin and Carl Gurreck."

Applause came from the Hufflepuff table and the Gryffindors joined politely. McGonagall returned to the podium.

"Next, I would like to introduce Stewart Ackerley, head of Ravenclaw."

He smiled kindly at her as he approached the podium. He was a fairly young, handsome teacher with dark hair that was gelled to the side.

"Hi, I'm Stewart Ackerley and I teach arithmancy. I'd like to extend my congratulations to the following students: Rebecca Andrews and Charlie Sanderson."

The Ravenclaw table applauded as the students joined the other prefects.

"And last but not least, I would like to introduce Horace Slughorn, head of Slytherin House."

An old, large man stepped up to the podium.

"Hello," he greeted them. "I'm Professor Slughorn and I teach potions. I would like to announce that Slytherin's prefects are Christina Diamond and Mitchell Baddock."

The Slytherins applauded loudly as the two fifth years joined the other prefects and McGonagall returned to the podium. Everyone applauded as the prefects returned to their tables.

"Finally, before the feast, I would like to announce the Head Boy and Head Girl this year at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry: Hannah Chang from Ravenclaw House and Nathan Peterson from Gryffindor House."

The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables cheered loudly as the Head Boy and Girl were welcomed into the two empty seats on either side of McGonagall's chair.

When the applause died down, McGonagall raised the microphone to her lips again. "And now, you may all enjoy the feast." She clapped her hands and the tables magically filled with food. All kinds of food: turkey, potatoes, bread, corn, beef, chicken, pudding.

Ayla moved a piece of turkey and a scoop of mashed potatoes onto her plate, picking up her silver fork.

"Wow, this is incredible," she said, looking around the ornate hall.

Lily touched her arm to get her attention. "Lily, these are my brothers, James and Albus." She gestured to the boys on either side of Bradley. "This one is James," she said, pointing to the boy across from her. James grinned and outstretched his hand. "And that's Al." she pointed to the boy across from Liam. Al looked up and smiled shyly at her.

"So, what year are you guys?" she asked, taking a bite of the turkey.

"Fourth," James said at the same time as Al said, "third."

James laughed at the coincidence. "He's a third year, I'm a fourth year."

"Oh, cool. So, what's it like here?"

"Well—" the boys began at the same time again. They both laughed again. James gestured for Al to continue.

"It's pretty great. There are _certain _teachers you want to stay away from," Al said, his eyes flickering towards James, "but for the most part, it's awesome."

"Yeah, don't worry, we'll show you the ropes," James said with a grin. "Hey, how about we give you guys a tour tomorrow. It's an orientation day for the first years so you won't have any classes."

"Won't _you _have classes?" Ayla asked.

"Eh…" James shrugged and Ayla laughed.

"So, Ayla, are you into Quidditch?" Al asked, averting her eyes from James.

"Oh, my god, yes," Ayla exclaimed, a huge smile spreading over her face. "I used to play it with my cousins when I was little."

"Nice!" Al exclaimed. "What position?"

"I'll play pretty much anything, but if I was playing for real, I'd probably be chaser."

"We're both beaters," Al told her, grinning.

"How intense are they here about Quidditch?" she asked, clearly hoping for a specific answer.

The boys looked at each other and laughed. "Very," they said together.

"Alright, one more question," she announced.

"Shoot," they both replied.

"Do you always talk in unison like that?"

Both boys burst into laughter. "Unfortunately, I'm told that we do," James laughed.

Albus leaned forward, propping his elbows on the wooden table. "So, how long have you played Quidditch?"

"8 years," Ayla responded.

"Well," Albus began, leaning even farther forward, "I've been playing for 9 years."

Catching on to his playful competition, Ayla raised her eyebrows. "Hmm…well, considering you're 2 years older than me, but have only been playing for 1 year longer, I've been playing for a larger percent of my life."

"Then it would be pretty embarrassing if I beat you, huh?" he returned.

"Oh, so embarrassing. That's why it would never happen."

He raised his eyebrows competitively. "Oh, yeah? Tomorrow, we'll battle it out, one-on-one. You'll see how good I really am."

"Bring it," Ayla challenged simply. Albus smirked and sat back, not breaking eye contact.


	3. Chapter 3

**This is a pretty short chapter, but I like this scene because I'm a huge fan of Albus **

**Hope you like it and please, please, please review!**

**Replies to Reviews**

**Bonniebonbon: thanks so much!**

**Pottergoose: I'm sorry this isn't a very clear answer, but that will definitely be explained later in the story. It goes along with all the other stuff about Ayla's past that you don't know yet. Sorry that was unclear, but thanks for letting me know! **

Chapter 3

The next morning, Ayla woke up at 4:30 for her early morning Quidditch match with Albus. She rolled out of bed, shoving her dark hair into a ponytail and changing into jeans, a red tank top, and a black zip-up sweatshirt. When she grabbed her broom and quietly exited her dormitory, she found Albus waiting in the common room, a huge grin on his face as he twisted in his chair. His eyes then fell on her broom and nearly fell off the seat.

"A Firebolt 5000?" he gasped, reaching for the broom. She held it behind her back.

"Not gonna happen," she told him. "It's brand new; I had the older model up until this past weekend when they released this one." She grinned and looked towards the door. "You ready to get your butt kicked?"

Albus snorted. "Whatever lets you sleep at night," he assured her sarcastically and she scowled, shoving him playfully as she followed him out of the portrait hole.

"Early birds!" the fat lady exclaimed. "You woke me up!"

"Early bird gets the worm," Albus called over his shoulder. "Or in this case, the snitch," he said to Ayla. When they reached the Quidditch field, Albus ducked behind a small shed beneath the stadium. He pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. He held the key between his teeth as he used both hands to pull the chains off the door. He blew out his breath, sending the key flying into his palm. "My mom's got a distant cousin that's a locksmith," he explained, winking. He shoved the key back into his pocket and sifted through a pile of brooms until he found his own. He frowned slightly at it and turned back to Ayla. "Cleansweep 4700," he told her. "I'm hoping for a new one sometime, but it's a pretty big stretch. He grabbed a box and opened the latch, revealing a Quaffle, two beaters, and the snitch. Then, he removed a jersey from a shelf and spun it around so Ayla could see the back, where the name _A. Potter _was printed in gold letters.

He grinned. "Like the new addition to the jerseys? They got the shirts a couple years back; added names to 'em last year." He smirked at her. "So, I guess you're playing skins, Torres."

She snorted. "In your dreams, Potter." She ducked past him and found a locker marked with the word _Uniforms_.

"Great plan," Albus said, leaning casually against the doorframe. "But in case you hadn't noticed, that's a padlock."

She smirked at him. "Step back, amateur," she said as she leaned down and twisted the lock until it clicked open. Albus's jaw dropped.

"How did you do that?" he demanded.

She smirked again. "I've spent my time in the chain gang," she joked.

"No, seriously."

She looked at him, and her smile faded slightly. "You don't want to know," she told him, turning back to the locker and grabbing an unmarked Gryffindor jersey. She unzipped her hoodie and tossed it to the side, pulling on her jersey.

Al let the subject go but kept his suspicious eyes on her as he removed his shirt and pulled on the jersey. Ayla grabbed her broom.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Alright, so one-on-one…" he said. "Quaffle, no bludgers, you have to shoot and guard your goals at the same time, we play until one of us catches the snitch. Got it?"

"Got it."

Al reached for the snitch, removing it from the box. "Newest in snitch technology," he began, and Ayla turned around. "This thing has a darkness setting." He squeezed it and a small white light shone from the side. Ayla shook her head, clamping her hand down on it so the light turned off.

"I don't play the easy way," she said, stalking off toward the field.

"I—I—Neither do I!" Al stammer, chasing after her with the Quaffle and the Snitch."

Ayla mounted her broom and Al followed. He released the snitch and it fluttered into the still-dark sky.

"Ready?" he asked and she nodded. He tossed up the Quaffle and Ayla zoomed to block her goal.

Al took the first shot, launching the Quaffle towards her and she spun around, whacking it away with the edge of her broom. She flew after it, catching it and bulleting towards Al. He squinted at her as she faked to the left, then launched it towards his right goal and it flew in. Ayla cheered as Albus cursed loudly.

"Good one, Torres, but you're about to get pounded," he told her, flying toward the Quaffle.

"Sure, sure," she teased, reaching the Quaffle before him and grabbing it. He chased her as she zoomed toward the goals.

"Damn!" He exclaimed as the Quaffle went through before he could reach it.

After half an hour, Ayla had 90 points, and Albus had 20.

A beam of light caught Ayla's eye as the rising sun reflected off _something_. She spun to see that _something _had been the snitch. She intentionally dropped the Quaffle, making it appear to be an accident, and Al plummeted toward the grass to catch it. Ayla twisted to the right and shot toward the snitch, but it dodged her, zooming toward Al's side of the field. Al caught on when he saw her turn sharply, and flew upwards. Ayla squinted to see the snitch and reached her hand forward, leaning on her broom. Her fingers brushed it and she stretched even further, feeling Al by the tail of her broom.

She clamped her fist around the snitch and beamed. "Yes!" she shouted in victory and Albus cursed again. Ayla landed smoothly and when she turned to see Al, he was in awe.

"Where the _hell _did you learn to play like that?" he demanded.

"Same place I learned to break open a padlock," she joked.

He raised his eyebrows.

"No, I'm kidding," she said. "I just grew up playing."

"You've gotta join the Quidditch team."

She shot him a ridiculous look, then realized he was serious. She laughed once. "No. No way," she said, shaking her head, chuckling.

"Are you kidding? We haven't had that much talent on the team since Quinton left last year, and now he's playing pro!"

She shook her head again. "I can't play on the Quidditch team, I just wouldn't."

His eyes widened incredulously. "Why not? You're amazing at it!"

"Are first years even allowed on the team?"

"Well—" he began an Ayla raised her eyebrows pointedly. "Okay, technically, no. But if McGonagall saw you play, she'd let you on for sure! She did it for my dad; she'd do it for you."

Ayla shook her head, pulling off the Quidditch jersey. The sun was finally shining and the sky was beginning to light up as she and Al walked back into the shed.

She folded the jersey and stuffed it back into the locker, latching the padlock again and jiggling it to make sure it was locked.

Albus shrugged back into his blue oxford, buttoning it up partway.

"Hey, what happened to your shoulder?" he asked, noticing a long jagged scar on Ayla's shoulder.

"Nothing," she snapped, pulling on her sweatshirt.

Al frowned. "Okay," he said, locking up the box containing the Quaffle, snitch, and bludgers, and placing it on a high shelf.

"Gotta give it to you, Torres," he said. "You're a—a better Quidditch player—than…" he winced, "_me_."

Ayla laughed. "Aw, that seemed very heartfelt, Potter," she said sarcastically.

Albus laughed, holding the door open as they re-entered the castle, carrying their brooms with them. When they reached the fat lady, she was sleeping again since their last pass-by.

Albus cleared his throat and the portrait lady awakened. "Oh," she murmured, sitting up. "Password?"

"Irwin Muddle," Albus replied, and the portrait swung open. He checked his watch when they saw that the common room was empty. "No one will be awake for another hour or two."

"Oh, fun," Ayla said sarcastically, flopping down on a chair. Albus sat next to her, kicking off his shoes and reclining back. They fell silent for a moment, and then Al sat up suddenly. Ayla turned to him.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"You know what we could do?"

"What?" she asked cautiously.

"I can pretty much guarantee McGonagall is up already. We can go ask her about the Quidditch team."

"Al, I don't want to play Quidditch on the team," she told him. "One-on-one was great, but I don't want to compete."

"Why not?" he asked pleadingly.

"Because—" she stopped. "I just don't. I'll tell you sometime, _maybe_. I don't know. Just _please_, let it go."

Al looked slightly angry as he re-reclined his chair, kicking his feet back up. Ayla sighed, looking straight ahead.

"So, how do you know that McGonagall is awake?" she asked, and Al's anger dissolved into a broad grin.

"I'll tell you," he said. "When you tell me where you learned to hack a padlock."

"I told you already," she said stubbornly, relaxing into her seat.

"Come on, _chain gang_? Really?"

"Hey, I'm sticking to my story!" she laughed.

"Okay, fine, I'll tell you how I know when you tell me why you don't want to play Quidditch."

"No," she said, still smiling, but her voice took on a firmer tone. "That's not something I'm going to tell you right now."

He laughed once. "Alright, whatever you say, Torres. How about…what happened to your shoulder?"

"You already asked me that," she said shortly.

"I know," he replied, turning towards her. "I wanna know."

"Nothing happened," Ayla said, standing up and grabbing her broom off the table in front of them. "I'm going to go get ready," she said, walking towards her dorm.

"Hey, I—" Al stammered, spinning out of his chair to come towards her.

Ayla spun to face him.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't know what happened to your shoulder, and you obviously don't want me to know, so I'll drop it. Sorry."

She shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I just have to get ready now."

"Yeah, sure," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Good game today," she said, grinning as she jogged up the steps.

"Yeah, you too. I think I'm giving you and Lily and Hugo a tour later, so I'll see you then."

"Sounds good," Ayla said, smiling as she closed the door behind her.

Al's eyes lingered on the door before he sighed and made his way back to the third year boys dormitory.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks so much to everyone for reading and reviewing, and special thanks to katiekat2251(guest) because** **your review made my day! Sorry, this chapter is probably not that great, but I hope you guys still like it!**

Chapter 4

Ayla dressed in a floral V-neck and skinny jeans with ballet flats when she got out of the shower and dried her hair with a new spell she had learned. She was waiting for Lily to finish getting ready so they could head down to breakfast. She grabbed her robes and pulled them on over her outfit.

The door of the bathroom opened and Lily walked out, looking at Ayla.

"I think you're supposed to wear the shirt and tie under your robes," she told her.

Ayla grimaced and Lily laughed.

"You know, my dad said that when he went to Hogwarts, they were actually super strict about the dress code," Lily told her. "I mean, not like it was enforced, but everyone just followed it perfectly."

"Ugh," Ayla grunted. She held up the white button-up shirt she was supposed to be wearing. "This thing is like a tent, it'll be down to my knees."

Lily laughed again. "Suit yourself," she said, grabbing her wand. "Ready?"

Ayla hopped up and followed her into the common room, where they met Hugo and Liam.

"Hey," Liam said. "Brad's going to meet us down in the Great Hall. He's still obsessing over his own appearance, so it might be a while.

The rest of them laughed as they exited the common room, making their way down to the Great Hall, where they sat down with James and Albus.

When Lily saw Ayla and Albus next to each other, she suddenly remembered their Quidditch match.

"Hey, who won Quidditch?" she demanded.

Ayla grinned and Al slumped in his seat jokingly.

"Wow, Ayla, nice!" Lily exclaimed, impressed. "Seriously, that's incredible. Al's one of the best players I know, and if you beat him…"

"I _told _her I would talk to McGonagall and get her on the team, but she said no," Albus told his little sister. Lily's jaw dropped.

"Oh, my god, Ayla, that's a perfect idea!" Lily exclaimed.

"Yeah, you should!" Liam, James, and Hugo joined in, despite the fact that they had never seen her play.

"I _don't _want to play!" she said too harshly, and everyone fell silent. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Drop it, guys," James said lowly and Ayla looked up at him with thanks in her eyes. He gave her a quick smile and nod in return.

When the three of them had finished breakfast, Al stood up and grinned at them.

"Are you guys ready for your tour?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Yeah, definitely!" Ayla hopped out of her seat followed by, Lily, Hugo, and Liam, as Bradley had still not shown up. James and Al walked ahead of them out of the Great Hall.

"Do any of you have the first year Gryffindor schedule on you?" James asked and Ayla handed it to him. "Thank you…" he said slowly as he scanned it. Al peered over his shoulder.

"Alright, we'll head to the potions classroom first," he said, spinning around toward the steps and jogged down. "Potions class is in the dungeon area, so it's pretty cold and kind of gross down there; might wanna ditch that as often as you possibly can. The Slytherin common room is down here too, so most Gryffindors choose potions as their _least _favorite class, myself included." He stopped in front of the closed door and turned back to Ayla, Liam, Lily, and Hugo. "Hey, uh, Slughorn kind of hates me, so I'd rather not go in there right now, but now you'll know where the classroom is."

As he turned to ascend the steps, Ayla asked, "Why does he hate you so much?"  
Albus scratched the back of his neck, scrunching up his face in thought. "Uh…it may or may not have something to do with the fact that I often tend to intentionally mix explosive ingredients with one of another to see the look on his face when the potion explodes."

Ayla laughed loudly and Al cracked a grin. "Yeah, I guess it _kind of _makes sense."

James looked at the schedule. "Ah, yikes, you have Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts back-to-back. Sucks," he said, folding the schedule back up and sticking it in his back pocket.

"Is that bad?" Lily asked.

James snorted. "Just a little bit," he said sarcastically.

"What's the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher like?" Ayla asked curiously and James and Al both looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"Oh, don't worry," James said, his voice ringing with sarcasm again. "As long as you're in Slytherin, you'll get by just fine." Ayla bit her lip nervously and James chuckled. "Nah, I'm messing with you. Well, sort of. He definitely prefers the Slytherins and generally hates all Gryffindors, but if you do well in his class and act like you worship him, you should be fine."

They stopped after going up several flights of stairs and down numerous winding corridors, and Al dropped his voice to a whisper.

"We _definitely _don't want to go in there to see Professor Ass-bomb," he said intensely.

"His name is _Ass-bomb_?" Ayla repeated incredulously and Al laughed.

"He _claims _it's pronounced Az-bowm, but it's definitely Ass bomb. It's spelled Asbaum."

Just as they were about to leave, a glint appeared in Albus's bright green eyes.

"Come on, I wanna show you something!" he said, grinning and James caught on, grinning equally broadly.

The others exchanged a glance then followed James and Albus down another hall, reaching a dark statue of a one-eyed witch.

Albus peered over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching, then whispered, "_Dissendium_." Ayla stood on her tiptoes and watched as the witch's back began to move, revealing a tunnel.

"It leads straight to Hogsmeade," James told them. "It takes a little while to get there, but it's so worth it. They don't let you go until third year, but it's, like, the best place on the planet."

Al grinned as the tunnel hid itself again. "Our Uncle George taught us everything there is to know about this place. All of the secret passageways and stuff."

"So there are others?" Ayla asked, a wicked smile on your face.

"Sorry, that information is trade-only. You'll have to tell me something I wanna know first."

Ayla smirked stubbornly at him. "That's fine," she told him. "I'll find out soon enough."

Now it was Albus's turn to smirk skeptically. "Good luck," he said smugly, breaking into a smile.

"Alright, after that you have charms," James said, looking at the schedule again. He suddenly burst into laughter at a memory. "Oh, man, you should've seen Al on his first day of charms." Blush creeped up Albus's next as he continued. "He tried to levitate a feather, and he levitated himself somehow…it was hilarious. There he is, floating up by the ceiling, totally helpless…" he inhaled deeply, out of breath from laughing. Albus jumped on his back, causing a fit of brotherly wrestling much like Liam and Bradley had done on the train. James threw Albus off his back, his back hitting a painting on four boats hanging on the wall. Al kicked James in the shin as the painting came falling off the wall and slamming onto the hard marble floor.

"Way to go, look what you did, dumbass!" Al joked, mussing James's hair.

"Wait, wait, guys!" Ayla exclaimed, looking at the space on the wall where the painting had hung. The painting had revealed another tunnel in the middle of the wall.

"Whoa, what's that?" Al wondered, stepping towards the hole.

"Looks like another secret passage…" James murmured and Ayla turned to Al cockily.

"Wow," she said, hand on her hip. "Didn't know about this one, huh, Al?"

He blushed slightly. "I—I _knew_, I just—" Ayla raised her eyebrows. "I didn't—" Al continued, Ayla still smirking. "Alright, fine you win!" he grunted. Ayla grinned, boosting herself through the hole in the wall. She turned and realized that no one was behind her.

"Come on, cowards!" she joked and James clambered in behind her, followed by Albus, Lily, Liam, and Hugo in the back.

"It is _really _dark in here," Albus commented dully. Ayla reached for her wand within her robe.

"_Lumos_!" A bright light shone from the tip of her wand.

"Where the hell did you learn that?" James asked. "I learned that spell last year. You're a first year and you've been here less than a day."

Ayla held the wand ahead of her as they crawled along. "I learned a lot of spells when I was a kid. Long story," she said simply, stopping when she saw the tunnel ending. "Oh, guys, the tunnel ends here. There's a landing down here that leads to another hall, but it's a pretty long drop."

"How long?" James demanded, scrambling towards her, attempting to see over her shoulder.

"It's not that bad, only about 6 feet, but considering we'd be going head-first…" Ayla reasoned.

"Damn," Al hissed. "Do you think the tunnel is long enough for us to turn around in?"  
"No way," Liam said.

Ayla thought for a moment. "Alright, I'll go down and then help you guys down."

"How the hell are you gonna get down there?" Al demanded, peeking over James's back.

She ignored him, leaning farther and farther out until only her feet were visible.

Then, her feet slid off the ledge and James lurched forward. "Ayla!"

"Oh, my god!" Al cried, diving over his brother. "Are you okay?"

But Ayla's hands landed perfectly on the ground, and she flipped herself over in a flawless handspring from the tunnel hole.

She grinned up at the others. "Gymnastics for 8 and a half years," she explained.

"What's gymnastics?" Albus asked.

"I, uh…I'll explain it sometime. Come on down!"

"Um, Ayla…" Al began. "None of us can do that…"

Ayla reached up her hands. "Come on, I'll help you down!" she called up to James. Al moved off of his older brother and James bit his lip nervously.

"I don't want to crush you, Ayla," he said.

"James, you're a beanpole, just come on!"

He sighed and reached his hands down. Al held his ankles as James lowered himself down towards Ayla. She grabbed his arms when they were within reach, and pulled him down farther until his ankles were out of Al's reach and he slid into Ayla's arms and hopped back onto the ground.

"Thanks," he breathed. "How'd you get so strong?"

"Add that to the list of things I'll tell you some other time," she said dismissively, then looked up at Al.

"Alright, James and I will help you down!" she called and Al nodded. He wiggled his shoulders out of the tunnel hole and Ayla and James each grabbed one of his shoulders and swung him down. He joined them to help Liam, Hugo, and Lily down.

"Okay, now we've gotta see where this leads to…" Al said, leading them down the hallway. After a series of winding corridors and creaky staircases, they found themselves at a trap door on the low ceiling of a storage space.

"Great," James said, flopping down on the ground.

"Wait!" Ayla exclaimed, feeling around on a shelf behind the door. "I found a key!"

She inserted the key and twisted in, then slowly opened the trap door and peeked out. "Oh, my god," she whispered.

"What is it?" Al asked, sticking his head next to hers. She moved out of the way so he could look.

"It leads to _outside_!" he exclaimed. "We must have been in some corner of the basement! We're underground!"

"Wait, what?" James demanded, joining his brother. "Bloody hell, this is the forbidden forest!"

"What's the forbidden forest?" Hugo asked nervously.

"Oh, don't worry," James said, crawling away from the trap door. "There are just some werewolves and centaurs and stuff."

Al turned around. "Do you know how amazing this is? I've wanted to go into the Forbidden Forest without being spotted ever since I got here! I mean, I've tried to go before and ended up getting detention."

James smirked. "Rookie," he teased.

"Ass," Al returned, scowling. He peeked out the door again. "The Forest is no fun during the day," he said. "Come on, let's head back. We'll come back here when it's at its scariest," he joked, eyes glinting evilly.

The six of them headed back through the long passageway until they reached the end of the tunnel hole, where they all slid out easily, as the tunnel was wider at this entrance. Albus and James carefully hung the painting back up over their newfound shortcut.

"That's _crazy_, I've gotta write to George," Al said when they finished. "So, do you guys want to check out the Charms classroom?"

"Um, I'm pretty sure that's all the excitement we can take for one day," Lily laughed.

"Uh, yeah, I second that," Ayla interjected.

Al nodded and they set off toward the common room.

He and James sat down in the common room and watched as Ayla walked back into her dormitory with their younger sister.

"So, Ayla, when are you going to teach me what gymnastics is?" Albus called and Ayla paused, leaning on the banister.

"Maybe when you beat me in Quidditch," she said, grinning playfully. And with that, she spun around and entered her dormitory, shooting him a grin before she closed the door behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry that this is kind of a slow chapter. I'm in that annoying part of the book where I'm kind of introducing the story, but I promise it will pick up! Thanks for reading! Please review if you have any questions or comments!**

Chapter 5

The next morning, the very first day of classes for the first years, Ayla woke up in a great mood. She quickly got ready and finally surrendered to wearing her school uniform. She frowned as she looked at the robes in the mirror.

"There you go!" Lily exclaimed as she emerged from the bathroom, wearing her robes. Ayla glowered at her jokingly, fighting a smile. Lily laughed. "You look fine," she assured her.

The two of them headed to breakfast, where they saw Liam, Hugo, and Brad across from Albus and James. Al caught Ayla's eye and she sat between him and James.

"Hey, Brad! I didn't see you yesterday," Ayla said, moving a piece of toast onto her plate.

"Uh, yeah, I fell back asleep at around eight and didn't wake up until the afternoon."

Ayla laughed, taking a bite of her toast.

"So, you psyched for your first class at Hogwarts?" James asked. His plate was loaded with eggs, toast, sausage, bacon, and pastries.

"I can't wait!" Ayla's eyes brightened. "I'm nervous but I'm excited," she continued, beaming.

"I'll bet," Al said. "My first day was the best day of my life, hands down. There I am, levitating by the ceiling in Charms, and I'm thinking, 'yeah, this is gonna be a good year.'" Everyone laughed and Al dug into his large breakfast.

"Mr. Potter!" came a warm voice, and both Al and James twisted around. Professor Slughorn, the large-bellied professor who had introduced himself as the head of Slytherin was behind the brothers.

"Hey…sir," Albus replied awkwardly.

"I found a stash of puking pastilles in one of my lab tables. You wouldn't have anything to do with that, now would you?" he inquired and the corner of Al's mouth twitched.

"Uh…no…sir," he tacked on to the end.

The professor's eyes narrowed slightly and he nodded. "Keep an eye out, if you would. I'd like to know who's responsible."

"Can do, professor," Al returned, suppressing laughter as the teacher walked away. Al turned back to the table, bursting into a fit of chuckles.

"Was it you?" Ayla asked and Al nodded through his mouthful of laughter and pudding.

Ayla giggled and glanced up at the staff table to Professor Slughorn, whose eyes were still set on Albus.

When the group had finished their breakfasts, Ayla was the first to stand.

"We should probably head to potions," she said.

Al stood immediately. "Want me to walk you?" he offered.

"I think we'll find it," she replied with a smile. "But thanks."

Al sat back down. "Yeah, it's, uh, it's good. I'll see you later. Good luck."

"Thanks! Have fun in your classes," she said, grinning.

"Oh, definitely, I'm heading to Muggle Studies. That'll be a blast."

"See you later, Al," Ayla laughed, setting off with Lily, Hugo, Liam, and Brad.

They arrived at the potions classroom a few minutes later, while Brad was using the restroom.

"Hello," Slughorn greeted them. "Grab a book and find a seat."

They each picked up a textbook from the bookshelf and found a lab table with four seats at it much like a science classroom. They looked around, and all groaned when they realized they had potions with the Slytherins.

"Excellent," Ayla muttered under her breath as they sat down.

Ayla sat on the far left, Liam to her right, then Hugo, then Lily. Brad shot them a playful glare as he came in, slamming his books down on the table.

"Alright, now that _all _of us are here," Professor Slughorn began, looking strictly at Brad. Liam snorted and Brad glowered at him. "We can begin by opening to page 76, where we will find the recipe for a simple color-changing potion. If you pour this potion on any substance, it will turn into the color of your choice. Not a very useful potion, but it's a great starter for this course. Now, I will warn you that this potion does require the feather of a rare bird called the Chameliojay. There is one bird per table, and the bird will not feel any pain when you remove the feather as long as you are _careful_. Use the tweezers provided for you, _not _your fingers to remove the feathers. So please, please be gentle. Alright, you may begin."

Ayla looked at the recipe on her page. _1 Cup Baneberry _was the first ingredient. She looked around at the plethora of ingredients surrounding her and identified the one labeled as _Baneberry_. She lifted her measuring cup and scooped out 1 Cup of the Berries, dropping them into her potion. She added castor oil, lavender, sopophorous bean, and Syrup of Arnica. She began to stir her potion and was about to pick up the tweezers when she heard Brad yelp. The bird had latched onto his eye, its beak stabbing at his skin. He attempted to yank it off of himself, spinning around, doubled over in pain.

"Mr. Cade, what did I tell you about using your hands to remove the feathers?" Professor Slughorn exclaimed.

Liam was bent over, laughing into his cauldron and Ayla suppressed a laugh as the corners of her mouth twitched. Lily looked confused as to what happened and Hugo seemed terrified. Bradley fell back in pain, crashing into the table behind him, which toppled over, causing screams from the Slytherins behind him as their potions poured onto the tile floor. Liam howled in laughter, earning a glare from Professor Slughorn.

Slughorn jumped in finally, yanking Bradley out of the mess, who stumbled back into Lily's seat.

"Class dismissed early today. Everyone out, except for Mr. Cade and this table," he said, gesturing towards the table that Ayla, Liam, Hugo, and Lily were sitting.

"What did we do?" Liam demanded.

"This was funny to you four, huh?"

Liam rolled his eyes, exasperated.

"You all can stay and clean up this classroom," he said, then turned on his heel and walked out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later, in the Gryffindor common room before their second class of the day, Ayla, Liam, Hugo, Lily, and Bradley sat in the Gryffindor common room. Ayla, who was curled up on the armchair behind Bradley, handed Brad an ice pack. He grabbed it and pressed it against his injured eye.

"Can't believe that stupid bird clawed my eye out," he growled and Liam suppressed another laugh.

"_I _can't believe we're still here and not walking to Defense Against the Dark Arts," Ayla said.

"It doesn't start for ten minutes," Liam assured her. "We'll be fine."

"They have _really _long breaks between classes," Lily said. "I mean, seriously, what do you even do with twenty minutes before _every _class?"

"So, Brad, are you going to Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Hugo asked. "Or do you not want people to see…" he left the sentence awkwardly open.

Brad thought for a moment. He removed the ice pack from his eye and the others gasped. It was bloody and swollen.  
"Nah, I'll go," he said. "Girls like this stuff," he said, gesturing toward his eye.

Lily shook her head. "No, Brad…they don't…"

"On me, they do," Bradley said narcissistically and Liam snorted, causing Brad to whack the back of his friend's head.

"Alright, well, we should head to class," Ayla announced, picking up her books. Lily, Hugo, and Liam stood while Brad wiped his eye one last time.

Ayla waited for Brad to stand, since he was sitting in front of her chair, blocking her path. He stood reluctantly, sighing, and they all headed to Defense Against the Dark Arts. They entered the classroom and saw a teacher with gray hair and a crooked mustache. They were pleased to find that their class was made up of all Gryffindors.

"Settle down!" he bellowed when the clock reached the starting time of the class. Ayla looked around to see that no one had been talking. She straightened in her seat. "I'm Professor Asbaum, as you all know. Read the syllabus on your desk and if you have a problem with anything on that piece of parchment, the door is over there and you can get out."

Liam's eyebrows shot up and he glanced at Ayla in the desk next to him.

"Today, I'm giving you a preview of your final exam. You get to take it today, see how you do, and then you have no excuse to fail your final because you already know what's on it. How does that sound?"

Ayla exchanged a glance with Brad. _What the hell? _Brad mouthed as Professor Asbaum passed out the tests.

She picked up her quill and wrote her name at the top of the paper. She bit her lip nervously as she went through the multiple choice section.

_If a wizard was in need of an object that was far away, what spell would they use to summon the object?_

_Ascendio_

_Impervius_

_Accio_

_Incendio_

Knowing she had read about this spell before, Ayla closed her eyes and tried to remember what she had learned. She circled c and moved on to the next question.

_A patronus is used to…_

_Murder_

_Scare off dementors_

_Create light_

_Levitate an object_

She circled answer b to this final question in the multiple choice section and moved on to the essay.

_State the three unforgivable curses and explain their uses. _

Ayla looked at the clock and felt a pang of fear when she realized that she only had four minutes left in class. She ran a hand over her face, panicked.

_Come on, Ayla. You learned about this years ago, _she told herself. She remembered reading about these spells. She remembered what had happened after she had read it. When her father had seen her and panicked, wondering why she wanted to know about these spells. _I'm just studying, _she had promised. Her mind went on to recount what happened next, and the whole memory suddenly became very vivid.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, I hope you like it so far! I'm super excited about continuing to write this, so please keep reading and reviewing! There's a dialogue in this chapter that is in Spanish, so the translations are on the bottom of the page. If anyone speaks Spanish, I know that they don't translate directly or smoothly, but it's the best I could do. Thanks for reading!**

Chapter 6

Lily paced back and forth in the common room. "And it was so ridiculous, like, you don't give us the final on the first day, and he's actually going to count it as a grade, it's so stupid! You can't expect us to come in on the first day already knowing how to do everything!" she ranted to Albus, James, Ayla, Bradley, Liam, and Hugo.

"He gave you the _final _on the first day?" Albus demanded. "I remember that final; it was the hardest one in first year and at least I took it after I had learned the stuff! I can't _imagine _doing that on the first day!"

"I know!" Lily continued. "He's ridiculous! For the essay question, we had to explain the three unforgivable curses. I don't even know what that means!"

Ayla flinched slightly and Albus turned to her. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was just a really hard test," she lied. They were sitting in the common room before dinner. Charms and Transfiguration had gone by more successfully than Potions or Defense Against the Dark Arts. "So, how did your classes go?"

Al sighed, propping his feet up on the table and slouching down. "Muggle Studies is the absolute worst class in the world. They added it as a requirement a couple of years ago because they think we need to be 'diversely educated' or something. It's so stupid, like, if you can do magic, good for you, and if you can't, then that sucks for you. We shouldn't have to learn about it."

A laugh escaped Ayla's throat. "Do you have to take it in third year or do you just have to take it at some point?"

"You can take it whenever, but you have to take two levels of it. Muggle Studies One and Muggle Studies Two. I'm in one."

Hugo groaned. "That sucks."

"Hey, you should all take Muggle one next year and Muggle two the year after and I'll take it then too. The only time we'd have classes together. But not you, Lil. No one wants class with their siblings," Alt teased.

Lily frowned and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Anyway, Herbology wasn't bad because Neville is pretty cool. Do you have that yet or is that next semester?"

"Next semester," Ayla said. "We'll have Herbology, History of Magic, Astronomy, and Flying next semester."

"That one's probably better than what you have now. Flying is awesome, not that you need it, but Herbology is pretty good, Astronomy is okay, but History of Magic is the worst. Professor Binns…" he trailed off, shaking his head and James barked a laugh.

"And when Hogwarts was founded by…" James imitated slowly in a monotone.

"Is that really what he sounds like?" asked Brad, who was still icing his eye.

"It's _exactly _what he sounds like," Al told him, laughing. He then looked at Brad. "Let me see your eye again," he said, moving the ice pack out of the way. He inhaled sharply when he saw it. "Man, that looks painful. What happened again?"

Bradley sighed. "I was taking the feather from the bird's wing, and it decided to go all demon-bird and claw my eyes out."

"Because you were being a dumbass, Brad!" Liam exclaimed and Brad smacked his arm.

Albus covered his face with his hands, howling with laughter. James was cracking up equally as much.

"Al, that's worse than you in Charms!" James cried, leaning on his brother's shoulder as he laughed.

"Shut up!" Brad whined, pressing the ice pack harder into his eye. "That bird was evil!"

"Whatever you say," Albus chuckled, standing up. "You guys want to head to dinner?"

"Yeah, sure," Hugo said, getting up.

"You guys go," Ayla said. "I've got to make a muggle call. My mom doesn't know how to write by owl, so…" she stepped towards her dormitory.

"Oh, I'll wait for you," Al offered.

"Uh, no, it's okay. It might take a couple minutes, so I'll just meet you a little bit later."

"Alright," he said, and Ayla gave him a small smile as she closed the dormitory door behind her.

She pulled out her cell phone, leaning her back against the door. The dormitory was empty, so she had enough privacy to make her phone call.

She dialed the number she needed and waited for someone to answer.

"Hello?" came a tired voice as the woman on the other end of the line spoke the single English word she knew.

"_Mama_?" Ayla asked, breaking into Spanish.

"Tengo tus mensajes," her mother's voice said.

"Si te llegaron mis mensajes, entonces ¿por qué no me llamaste?" Ayla asked softly, hurt.

"He estado ocupado, mi niña."

"De verdad, mamá? Demasiado ocupado para llamar a su propia hija? Me metí en Hogwarts, mamá. Estoy allí en estos momentos. ¿Cómo puedes dejar que algo como eso pase sin ni siquiera me llama?"

"Lo siento, cariño, yo estaba—"

"No. Olvídate de eso. Sé que nunca me has querido ser un mago, pero yo soy lo que sólo tendrá que lidiar con eso. Creo que he dado lo suficiente para ti, ¿puedes dejarme ser feliz por una vez?"

The dial tone rang in Ayla's ears like the cold, hard pain she had felt many times before from her family. Her hands shook as she hung up the cell phone and it clattered onto the hard floor. A single tear squeezed itself out of her eye.

She quickly regained her composure, wiping her eyes and taking a deep breath, stepping out of the dormitory.

"Surprise!" Al exclaimed, and Ayla nearly jumped a foot. "I waited for you anyway," Albus said with a grin. Ayla forced a smile.

"Thanks. Let's head to dinner."

"You alright?" he asked, concerned. "Who was that on the phone?"

"My mother. And I'm fine."

"I heard a little bit…you sounded pretty mad. I mean, obviously I couldn't tell what you were saying, but you were yelling, so…"

"No, it's nothing," she assured him. He turned to her and gave her a knowing look, positive that she was lying. She sighed. "She hasn't called me. And I've been leaving her messages…I hadn't even talked to her to tell her I got my Hogwarts letter, let alone that I was actually here."

"Oh, my god, that's awful!" Albus said softly.

She looked at him, slightly surprised. She hadn't thought he would react this passionately. "It's…fine."

"No, it's not; she shouldn't let something like that go by without trying to be a part of it!"

To her shock, her eyes stung with tears. "That is exactly what I thought," Ayla said quietly, looking down. "I mean, she's done this since I was a kid, and—"

Albus hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry," he said softly. Ayla hugged him back, stunned but comforted.

"Thanks, Al." She sniffled as she pulled back.

"Do you feel okay to go to dinner?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, it's no big deal."

Albus shook his head. "I've got a better idea." He waved his wand, giving her a wicked grin and a strange, small, hunched-over _thing _appeared in front of them. Ayla jumped back. "Ayla, this is my dad's house elf, Kreacher."

"Hi, Kreacher," Ayla said, unsure of what to say.

"Kreach, get us some food."

"Yes, Master Albus. What kind of food would you like?"

"What do you want?" Albus asked courteously.

"Oh, I—I don't want to trouble you," Ayla said to Kreacher and Albus laughed.

"Just some sandwiches, Kreacher."

The creature disappeared and Ayla turned to Albus.

"What just happened?" she demanded as they sat down on the couch in the empty common room.

"He's a house elf. He serves a family. Most families treat them like crap, but Dad actually feeds him and pays him and takes care of him."

"Oh, so he's like a butler, but with wizard families?"

Al looked at her blankly. "What's a butler?"

She laughed once. It was easy to forget that they came from different worlds.

"Never mind," she chuckled.

"Okay, I'll add that to the list of muggle things I want you to explain to me. Right after _gymnastics_."

Ayla laughed. "Gymnastics is a sport where…well there are four apparatuses and—"

She was interrupted by Kreacher as he returned with the food. When he disappeared, she looked over at her food and laughed.

"This looks _really _good, Al."

He grinned. "So continue about gymnastics."

For the next few hours, as people returned from dinner and went to bed, Ayla talked. Just talked. And although she never said anything extremely important, or mentioned anything she had been holding back, she felt like she had taken the weight of the world off her shoulders.

**Spanish Translations**

**"****I have ****your message****," ****said****her****mother's****voice****.  
****"****If ****you****got my messages****, ****then why didn't you call me****?" ****Ayla****asked****softly****, ****hurt****.  
****"****I've been busy, my baby."  
****"****Really, ****Mom****? ****Too busy****to call your****own daughter****? ****I got into****Hogwarts****, Mom. ****I'm there****right now.****How could you****let something like****that happen****without even****calling me?****"****  
****"****Sorry, honey, ****I was****-****"  
****"No.****Forget about it****. ****I know you never wanted me to be****a wizard****, ****but I****am, so you just have to****deal with it****. ****I think I've given up****enough for you****, can you ****let me be****happy****for once****? ****"**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Ayla awoke the next morning, and instantly remembered and regretted what had happened the previous night. She had cried. In front of Al. Someone she had just met. She had never cried in front of anyone before. She got dressed and crept out of her dormitory, looking around for Albus and hoping not to run into him. Relieved that he wasn't in the common room, she headed down to breakfast, but saw him the second she entered the Great Hall. She averted her eyes and sat down several seats away from him. In her peripheral vision, she saw his face form into a confused expression before he turned back to his breakfast.

Brad, who was sitting across from the seat she chose, looked up at her. His eye was still puffy and red. "Oh, hey, Ayla. How come you didn't sit with everyone?"

"Saw you over here and thought I'd give you some company," she lied. "Why are you over here?"

He leaned in, lowering his voice. "There's this second year…" he said lowly, nodding his head to the side. His eyes widened and he blew out his breath, nodding approvingly.

Ayla rolled her eyes in disgust, taking a bite of her breakfast.

"Sorry," Brad said insincerely, smirking as he dug into his muffin while shoveling more pastries onto his plate. She looked at his breakfast, slightly grossed out. He glanced up at her, and sheepishly shoved a donut into his mouth.

She looked down, then slyly looked over at Al, who was engaged in conversation with James.

Bradley set down his donut, raising his eyebrows at her. "Why are you avoiding Al?" he asked simply, knowingly.

"I—I'm not—why would I be avoiding Al?" she demanded, blushing and looking down.

"I don't know. Why would you be?"

"Really, I'm _not_."

"You are a _terrible _liar," he accused, laughing. "Let me guess." He leaned his elbows on the table. "Goody-two-shoes?" Ayla raised her eyebrows at him. "_Someone's_ parents taught her well."

"They taught me nothing," Ayla snapped but her face softened when Brad flinched. "Sorry," she mumbled, taking a sip of her water.

Brad shook his head once to say it was no problem. "Do we have to go to potions today?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Uh, yeah, Brad. Every day," she replied.

He groaned. "Do you think there will be any demonic birds this time?"

"If there _are_, I highly doubt Slughorn will let you near them."

"He better not," Brad grumbled, taking another enormous bite of his donut.

"I think I'm going to head up and get my books before Potions."

"Oh, I'll come with you," he said, grabbing a donut for the way up to the common room.

Unbeknownst to Ayla, Albus looked up from his breakfast, his face falling as she walked out of the Great Hall without even looking at him.

X

After Defense Against the Dark Arts, as Ayla headed for lunch, she finally ran into Al. She gave him a brief smile as she passed him.

"Ayla?" he asked, and she bit her lip as she turned around. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," she said, shifting her books and not making eye contact with him.

"What's going on? You seemed like you were avoiding me all day. Did I do something wrong?"

"No, I did," Ayla said, still not looking at him. He searched for her eyes and she sighed, setting her books down on the coffee table and sitting on the couch. He sat next to her and she turned to face him. "Last night…I'm really sorry that you had to see that."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I cried in front of you," Ayla said almost silently. Al laughed once incredulously.

"_That's _what this is about?" he asked. "Ayla, that's crazy!"

"I've never cried in front of anyone before," she said quietly.

"_Never_?"

"I guess when I was a baby, because all babies cry, but…"

"But all grown people cry too," Albus pointed out and Ayla smiled, letting out a sad laugh.

"I just didn't want you to think that I was crazy."

"Honestly, Ayla, if I thought you were crazy, it would be because of _this _conversation, not the one last night." Ayla looked unsurely at him, not knowing how to respond to that. "Not that this conversation makes me think you're crazy either—" he scrunched up his face, knowing he had messed up his words. Ayla hid a smile as he struggled for the right phrasing. "I don't think you're crazy. I never would. I promise."

She smiled at him. "Thanks. And thanks for talking to me last night. I…needed it."

"Anytime," he promised sincerely. "I mean that."

She looked down and picked up her books, clutching them to her chest. "You want to go to lunch?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, standing up. "But you're not taking your books with you," he said, smirking. He reached out and took the books from her, setting them back on the table. She laughed and turned toward the portrait hole, stepping out of the common room with Albus. "You know what we should do later?" he asked as they walked toward the Great Hall.

"What?" Ayla replied.

"We should go to the Forbidden Forest and take that short cut we found out about."

She turned to him. "Is there a curfew here?"

"Ehh," Al said dismissively, shrugging.

She shook her head, chuckling, and continued walking.

"Come on! If we get in trouble, it's all on me, I promise."

She sighed, narrowing her eyes slightly in thought.

"Fine," she agreed after a moment and Al cheered.

X

Later that night, Ayla sat in the common room with Albus, waiting for people to start going to bed. After the common room was mostly empty, Al turned to her, grinning.

"You ready?" he asked. She nodded and followed him out of the common room and down to the painting they had spotted a few days before.

Ayla looked around to make sure no one was coming as Albus removed the painting from the wall. She climbed into the hole and Al set the painting back into place from inside the hole to cover up their path. They climbed until they reached the drop-off point, where Ayla flipped herself over again and helped Albus down.

"It's really dark down here," Albus said quietly as they crept toward the storage space with the trap door. "I can't even see you. Where are you?"

Ayla reached out blindly to find him. "Over here," she said as she made contact. She eventually found the trap door and felt around for the key, releasing herself and Albus into the Forbidden forest.

She paused before climbing out of the door in the ground.

"What's wrong?" Albus asked.

"I'm scared," she admitted, biting her lip.

"Don't worry," he assured her, moving closer to her. "It'll be fine, really. There's nothing too bad out here, I promise."

She nodded and pushed herself out into the forest, walking close to Albus. They walked slowly, careful not to trip on anything. Something howled in the distance and Ayla instinctively spun into Albus's chest. His arms reflexively shot around her.

"You okay?" he asked her, concerned.

"Sorry," she murmured. Her heart was thumping in her chest, her stomach twisting in fear.

"Yeah, it's no wonder this is the forbidden forest," Al commented, crossing his arms to fight the cold breeze. "It _might _not be the safest place in the world."

Another howl sounded and Ayla flinched. "Can you take your wand out?" she begged, sounding like she was on the verge of tears. Al immediately hit his pockets and pulled out his wand.

"So, where does this forest end?" Ayla asked, relaxing now that they had some sort of defense.

"Uh, there's some Muggle town about 60 kilometers out, but I don't know how much of that is still the forest. I've never been out all that far." He turned and grinned at her. "Do you want to go find out?"

"Um, all the way to the Muggle town?"

"Yeah, why not?"

She thought for a moment. "Do you, by chance, know the name of the town?"

"I think it's Cambridgeshire, but I can't be sure. Why?"

"Um, yeah, I don't think we should go all the way out there. That's a super long walk anyway, we'd be out here all night."

"Not if we used my new fancy spell," he said.

"What's your new fancy spell?"

"I learned a spell to give yourself super speed! It's really easy, actually!"

"Then we can run super-speedily in the other direction, but I _don't_ want to into Cambridgeshire."

"Ooh, what do you have against Cambridgeshire?" he asked curiously.

"Nothing, I just—I know someone who lives there, alright? That's it; it's no big deal."

"Juicy gossip," he said sarcastically, and Ayla could hear the grin in his voice. She shoved him playfully.

"Hey, I'll race you to that tree over there," Ayla challenged.

"You're on," Albus replied, smirking as he tucked his wand back into his pocket.

"One…two…three!" Ayla exclaimed, sprinting towards the tree in the distance. She could hear Albus running next to her as their feet crunched against the twigs and leaves. She dove forward, smashing her palm into the tree and shooting her fist in the air in victory. Al cursed loudly as Ayla laughed.

"Wow, Torres, is there anything you _can't _do?"

She laughed again, turning to face him.

"So, you want to head back now?" Albus offered.

"Is the agony of defeat just _too _crushing?"

"Hah," he said sarcastically, setting off toward the castle with Ayla.

"The Forbidden Forest actually isn't all that bad," she commented fairly, looking around. "It was scary, but it's not so bad anymore."

He grinned. "Yeah, we should come again. By the way, we picked the right night to come." He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, pointing up at the sky. "It's a full moon," he said in her ear and she moved slightly closer to him, fear creeping up on her again.

"Okay, that howl we heard earlier…ten times scarier now."

Albus laughed. "Hey, we got out alive, so we must be pretty good at this."

"Not yet, we didn't," Ayla joked. "Race you to the castle? It'll give you a chance to prove yourself," she said playfully.

"You bet," he told her, getting ready. "Go!" He shouted, sprinting off as Ayla dashed after him.

As they exited the forest and reached the grass leading toward the castle, they both barreled even faster to the school. Ayla's hand hit the front door just a fraction of a second before Al's did and he cursed again.

"Shhh," she laughed, reminding him that they were at the school where everyone was sleeping. He laughed quietly and held open the door. As they crept toward the stairs, they heard footsteps descending them and panicked. "Go, hide!" Ayla hissed, ushering him through the closest door which turned out to be a girls' bathroom.

Albus looked around when they got inside and burst into laughter. "So, this is what a girl's room looks like," he commented, and Ayla whacked his arm, pressing her ear against the door, listening to the footsteps.

"Okay, I think we're clear," she breathed, opening the door and peeking outside. She nodded at Al and they crept toward the stairs until they reached the Portrait, who was sleeping.

"Hey!" Al hissed. "Let us in!"

The fat lady shook awake. "Oh," she said, startled. "What time is it? Why are you just getting back?"

"Just let us in!" Al begged, giving her the password and looking around anxiously. She gave him a scolding look and swung open.

Albus stepped to the side to let Ayla go ahead of him, and then clambered through after her.

Ayla grinned in relief when she stepped into the common room. "That was fun," she said.

"Hell, yeah," Al agreed.

"I think I'm going to bed," she told him. "Thanks for taking me to the forest. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Anytime, Torres."

She smiled at him and entered her dormitory, pausing in the doorway to see him flopping down on the couch. The corners of her lips turned up slightly as she quietly closed the door behind her. She lay in bed and allowed her tired eyes to close, recounting the events of the night. In the past two nights, she had done two things in front of someone she had just met that she had never done in front of anyone before: cry and get scared.

She finally fell asleep after hours of lying there wondering how on earth she learned how to trust someone.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

At the end of the week, the first years were assigned an essay in both Potions and Defense against the Dark Arts. Lily, Ayla, Hugo, Liam, and Bradley were in the library with Albus, who had a Muggle Studies essay, and James, who was just doing his homework.

"What do you have to do for your Potions essay?" James asked.

"We were assigned a potion and we have to research it and write about who invented it and when, all the ingredients, how it's made, how often it's made, what it's used for, and all that type of stuff," Ayla explained. "And Dark Arts was similar, except with a defensive spell."

"Oh, fun," James said sarcastically.

"What about you, Albus?"

"I have to choose a muggle sport and write an essay about it. I don't even know what muggle sports there are."

"Well, you could do football, or baseball, or…" she stopped when she saw Al's clueless expression. "You have no idea what I just said, do you?"

He shook his head dully, and she laughed, pulling her chair towards his.

"Let me see the prompt," she said, and he handed her a piece of paper with the assignment.

"I'm in a group of four people. Every group got assigned a different field, like sports, music, film…everyone in my group has to do a different sport. I wrote down the sports the other people in my group were doing."

In Albus's scribbly handwriting, Ayla saw the words:

Football

Basketball

Baseball

"Okay, so we'll just have to pick something else. You could do lacrosse," she suggested.

"Oh, what's that muggle sport you play?" he asked, snapping his fingers, trying to remember.

"Gymnastics?" Ayla asked.

"Yeah, if I do that, you can tell me all I need to know and I don't need to research!"

Ayla pointed to the line on the assignment page that read, _works cited page_. Al groaned, but quickly recovered.

"Alright, then, I'll find a book and cite it but not actually use it!" he said, hopping to his feet.

Ayla laughed. "Okay, then go find a book."

"Here's the problem," he said, slinking back into his seat. "I don't exactly _read_ when I don't absolutely have to, so I might need some help."

"You want me to help you find a book?"

He nodded gratefully and she stood up, walking to the Muggle section of the Hogwarts library. She found the section on Muggle sports and scanned through the alphabetically sorted topics until she found gymnastics and selected a few books.

"So, let's see what I remember from the other night," Albus said as they sat back down with the others. "So, for women there are four events, and for men there are…I want to say six?"

"Correct," Ayla said, picking up her quill. "And the events are…?"

"Okay, um, for women, it's beam, bars, floor and…vault?"

"Nice!" Ayla exclaimed, impressed.

"That's all I remember."

"That's pretty good!" she said. "I'll help you tonight, I promise."

"Thanks," he said, grinning. "So, what potion do you have?"

"Wolfsbane," she replied, shutting her book. "But I finished, so now I have to start my Dark Arts essay."

"You're _finished_?" Lily demanded. "We've been here less than two hours!"

Ayla smiled. "I'll help you if you want."

"I'll be right back," James announced, standing up. He tapped Al twice on the back of the head as he walked out.

"Uh, I too will be right back," Albus said awkwardly, leaving the library.

"What was that?" Bradley asked.

Lily shrugged. "They're probably up to no good as usual."

Albus returned to the table. "Hey, Ayla, can you come help me find another book?"

"Sure!" Ayla said cheerily, standing up. But instead of leading her to the bookshelf, he led her to the door.

"Come on, I want to show you something," he said, grinning.

"Okay…" she said unsurely. They descended one flight of steps to meet James. "What's going on?" Ayla asked and James turned, grinning.

"Shh," he whispered. "See that kid down there?" he asked, pointing to a boy who looked to be about James's age. The boy seemed to be searching around a statue on the wall. "Okay, so that statue has been like all of the portraits for years: it can talk and move and stuff. I unanimated it with a new spell I learned. That kid, his name is Sheldon, and he's been talking to the statue since first year. I'm trying to convince him that he's been imagining it all along.

"Hello?" Ayla heard the kid call loudly to the statue and she held in a laugh. "Mr. Stoney Man?"

"Oh, my god!" Ayla laughed.

"What is he—why is he—EXCUSE ME?" Sheldon called at a Professor who was walking past.

"Mr. Shorles. What can I do for you?" the teacher asked.

"_Sheldon Shorles_?" Ayla repeated and James burst into hushed laughter, nodding.

"I've messed with him since my first day of first year when he was my roommate…oh, God, it was hilarious."

"Does he know that it's you?" Ayla asked.

"Yeah, that's the best part!" James exclaimed. "He always tries to get me back but he has no idea what to do; it's priceless."

They looked down at Sheldon.

"But the statue was talking yesterday!" he was exclaiming to the professor, who looked concerned.

"Alright, well, it was nice seeing you, Mr. Shorles."

"Wait here!" James hissed as he casually descended the steps. "Sheldon, my man!" he exclaimed, clapping him on the back. Sheldon flinched.

"What do you want, James?" he sneered.

"I heard you yelling and wanted to make sure everything was alright."

"Well, the statue stopped talking to me! So, no, James, everything is _not _alright."

"This statue? This statue is brand new, Sheldon."

"Nice try, James, but it's been here all along."

"Ohhh," James said smoothly. "You're thinking of the statue that _used _to be here! It got dented so they replaced it this morning," he lied easily.

Sheldon turned to him slowly. "You mean that—that Mr.—I mean, the statue—is _gone_?"

"Yeah, buddy, it's gone. It might not have reached the bottom of the Black Lake yet, it could still be in the dumpster outside if you want to—"

Sheldon barreled past him, sprinting clumsily down the steps, tripping over his own feet as he went. James jogged up to meet Ayla and Albus, who were howling with laugher. James bowed jokingly when he reached the top of the steps.

"He'll be in the Black Lake by dinner tonight, guaranteed. Nice bath after his dumpster-diving."

Ayla laughed and the three of them returned to the library, where Ayla sat down to help Lily with her potions essay and the boys wondered if they had found their next partner in crime.

X

Ayla felt the sun warming her skin, the brightness shining on her closed eyes. Albus and James had shown Ayla, Lily, Liam, Hugo, and Brad a spot in the grass near a tree on the side of the lake that had the perfect mix of sun and shade. She was lounging on her back between Albus and Liam, and next to Liam were James, Lily, Hugo, Liam, and then Brad.

A heat wave had come this weekend and they knew it would probably be their last week of warmth before the harsh winter.

Ayla pushed her sunglasses up onto her head and propped herself up on her elbows. James sat up and looked over at her.

"Whoa, Ayla, what happened to your shoulder?" James demanded.

Al tossed a pebble at his head and James flung it back, unaffected.

Ayla looked at her own jagged scar. "Uh, nothing, just one of those childhood injuries."

"There are others on your arm," James realized, stepping over Liam. "I never noticed before, maybe it's the lighting, but what are all of these from?"

Ayla moved her arm away from him uncomfortably. "Like I said, just some stupid childhood stuff. I'm a klutz, I guess," she explained with an awkward laugh. James looked suspiciously at her just like Al had when she had given him the same excuse, but he lay back down anyway. Ayla relaxed back into the grass, sighing.

She was sick of trying to keep secrets.

Sick of trying to hide everything about her life.

Sick of wondering whether she wanted people to know or not.

Sick of everything. Just everything.

Except for her friends at Hogwarts. They were holding her together when everything else was falling apart.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The week that followed was equally as hot as that weekend had been, and the castle was extremely overheated.

Ayla was slouching on the couch in the common room next to Lily. Albus, James, Hugo, and Liam were in the armchairs on either side of the couch, and Brad was flopped down, spread out on the couch across from them with his shirt off.

"With all the things you can do with wizardry, wouldn't you think that there would be come kind of spell to cool down the place?" Brad demanded tiredly.

"I'm sure there is," Ayla replied, sitting up. There was a pillow placed over her lap to hide the scars on her legs that no one had noticed yet.

"They should really use it," Al muttered. "This is, like, unbearable. I couldn't even focus in class today." Everyone turned to stare at him and he rolled his eyes. "Okay, I never focus in class, but still."

"At least the dormitories should have air conditioning," Ayla said. "Even if the classrooms don't, I mean, we should at least be able to sleep."

Everyone mumbled in agreement, too exhausted from the heat to even speak.

"Do you think it's any cooler outside?" Albus asked. "I mean, it can't really be any hotter."

"Maybe…" Hugo agreed. "At least we'd get some fresh air."

"Let's go!" Brad said, hopping to his feet. They all left the common room.

The group ran into Professor Asbaum in the hallway. "Mr. Cade, would you kindly like to put on a shirt?" he asked coolly.

"Classes are over; you're off the clock," Brad dismissed, brushing past him. The others giggled as Professor Asbaum stuttered over his response, coming up with nothing to say back.

They walked down the steps and out the front door of the school, returning to the same spot near the lake that they had lain a few days before.

"Ugh, this is _so _not what the first week of October should feel like," Lily grumbled as she sat down.

"Hey, I've got an idea," Albus said, sitting up after a few minutes of lying in the sun. "We should go swimming in the lake."

"I'm in," Brad agreed immediately and James followed.

"Definitely," Ayla said, springing to her feet. Albus pulled off his shirt and tossed it on the ground, revealing his toned abs and biceps that weren't visible beneath his Hogwarts robes.

"Race you!" he said to Ayla, running to the lake. She chased after him, jumping into the shallow edge of the lake. "Tie!" Albus declared as James, Brad, Lily, Liam, and Hugo jumped in as well.

The seven of them swam in the lake until the sun went down and finally climbed out to dry off before dinner. Ayla pulled her wet hair to the side, draping it over her left shoulder, revealing the burn marks around her collarbone.

"Whoa, Ayla, you have _another _scar! How clumsy _are_ you?" James laughed.

Ayla pulled her hair back over the scorch marks, still staying strong, still keeping her secret. But weeks later, after the heat had turned to rain and the rain turned to snow, Ayla would finally snap.

X

The snow fluttered down from the gray sky, leaving pretty patterns on the grass outside of Hogwarts. It was the first snowfall of the year, in late November, the first sign of what would be a long, cold winter.

Ayla was sitting in an armchair in the common room, studying. Albus barreled over, hopping onto the arm of her chair.

"Ayla! Oh, my god, guess what? Remember that time we went to the Forbidden Forest? How awesome it was, remember? Yeah, well you know what's even more awesome?" He paused dramatically. "_Forbidden Forest in the snow_!"

Ayla raised her eyebrows, looking up at him. "Sounds pretty fun," she agreed.

"Yeah!" he cheered. "Alright, ten o'clock tonight. Tomorrow's Saturday so we can stay out, maybe take that walk to Cambridgeshire, eh? Well, I'm going to go have a snowball fight with James, but I'll see you later!"

Ayla twisted in her seat to watch him leave, then pulled out her muggle phone, dialing a number that she had written on a piece of paper.

"Hi, um, I'm looking to find out whether cell 428 is still occupied or not," she requested quietly.

"Let me check for you," the woman on the other end of the line said kindly. "Yes, ma'am, that cell is occupied."

"Could I get the occupant's name please?"

"Richard Hayes."

"Thank you," Ayla said and slowly hung up the phone with her trembling hands.

X

That night at ten o'clock, Ayla left the common room with Albus, getting ready to head to the forbidden forest. This time, their friends knew where they were going and wished them luck on their way out. They were both dressed in hoodies, scarves, and hats for the cold weather. As they exited the secret trap door, the cold air bit at Ayla's cheeks, the chilly wind stinging her eyes. She shoved her icy hands into her sweatshirt pockets as they set off into the forest.

Instead of Albus's super-speed spell, they had brought their broomsticks for the journey through the forest, planning to use them if they decided to see where the forest ends. They started by walking slowly, leaving footprints in the snow, stopping every once in a while to make snow angels or have a brief snowball fight.

"We should make a snowman!" Albus exclaimed suddenly.

"Oh, my god, yes!" Ayla agreed, setting her broom aside and dropping to her knees to pack the snow into a ball. They molded the snow into a huge boulder-like shape for the bottom, then hoisted the next piece on top. Ayla placed the head on top and they stepped back to look at it.

"For my first snowman ever, it's not all that bad," Albus said, sounding impressed.

"Yeah, we did pretty well!" Ayla said, giving him a high-five.

"We make a pretty good team, Torres. Hey, what do you say we get on the brooms now and start flying?"

"I'm in," Ayla said, climbing onto her broom.

"It's dark, so fly close," he said. "We don't want to get lost."

"Yeah, that would be bad," she said, taking off. They soared over the tops of the trees, and after a while, they began to see the lights of the city ahead.

"I think that's the Muggle town!" Albus called and Ayla's smile faded, fear creeping up on her.

"Y-yeah, I think so too," she said quietly, angling her broom down to get ready to land.

Albus landed next to her, hopping of his broom and carrying it with him as they continued on foot.

"This place doesn't seem so bad," he mused. "It's got that pizza place over there, these hotels here…" he squinted into the distance. "Ah, a Category A prison," he continued. "Beautiful, huh?" he said sarcastically.

Ayla instinctively drifted towards him as her stomach twisted in fear and her throat tightened.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," she murmured, her eyes locked on the prison in front of them. Albus followed her gaze.

He laughed. "What, were you locked up in juvie there or something?"

She shook her head. "It's not a juvenile prison. That prison has some of the most dangerous criminals in the country."

"Oh, like who?" he said jokingly, then realized she was serious. "Who?" he asked again, softly this time, sounding almost afraid of what the answer might be.

"Like Richard Hayes," she replied in almost a whisper.

"Who is Richard Hayes?"

She took a deep breath, knowing she had to tell him, knowing she had to get this off her chest. "My father."

**Okay, so I'm posting Chapter 10 tonight too, but please review before you read it! :) Thanks! Chapter 10 is really short just because it's basically a continuation of this scene, so that's why I posted two in one night. Thanks and I really hope you like it!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! I really hope you like it so far! By the way, the story kind of takes on a little bit of a more intense content in this chapter. Don't worry, there's nothing really vivid or anything, but up until now the story probably could have been rated K even though I put it in as T, and in this chapter it sort of lives up to the teen rating. Just wanted to let you guys know! This is a HUGE part of the story even though it's a short chapter, so please let me know what you think!**

Chapter 10

"Your—your father?" Al demanded. "W- What happened?"

Once she had said admitted that her father was a criminal, the secrets suddenly gushed out like blood from an open wound.

"Albus, you might want to sit down," she said quietly, sliding onto a bench on the sidewalk where they stood. "I'll start from the beginning, I guess." She took a deep breath. "I didn't grow up the same way you did, or Brad, or Liam, or Hugo did. And it's not because I'm muggle born, it's because… it's because my parents didn't give a crap about me. My dad was a drunk and a drug addict from the day I was born. He found out I was a wizard and he was so angry. At my mother, at me, at everyone." She took a deep breath again, not really wanting to reveal the next part but knowing that she had to. "The first time he hit me was when I was two years old. I accidentally did some magic. I really didn't mean to; I didn't know any better. And I'm not talking about a spanking or anything like that; I mean he was hitting me with the intention of injuring me. It got worse as I got older. Every day, he would go out to a bar and I would just hide out in my room, lock my doors and pray he wouldn't find me. But he always did. Every night, he came in, did what he wanted to do, and then brought me to some abandoned alley to leave me for dead. I found my way back every night, but imagine trying to explain to your friends and teachers why you're covered in bruises and cuts all the time. You can only tell them you fell so many times before they stop believing you. But at the time, I was just a kid and I didn't know what was really happening. I just assumed that everyone did that. But when I turned seven, I kind of came to the realization that it wasn't right; it wasn't normal. Because one night when he was particularly angry, he did something ten times worse than anything he had ever done before."

Al dropped his head into his hands, understanding what she had meant.

Ayla's tears streamed down her face as she continued. "The day after the first time he did that, he came into my room again and I tried to hide from him, so he…" she paused, unable to speak, and pulled aside her sleeve to reveal once again the jagged scar on her shoulder. "This was from his knife." She turned to the side, moving aside her hair to show him the scars on her neck and collarbone. "And so is this."

Al was crying now, trembling with fear at her terrifying story.

"One day, just six months ago, I finally told my friend's dad who's a social worker, and we got my father sent to that prison right there," she said. "He found out that I told someone and he just went ballistic. By the time the police showed up, he had the knife to my throat but they stopped him just in time."

Her fear suddenly turned to anger. "And the worst part is that he told me over and over again that it was my fault that he was doing that to me. Like I asked for it, like I wanted it!" she cried disgustedly. "I swear to God, if I see him again, I might just kill him!"

"Ayla, oh my god, I'm so sorry!" he cried, throwing his arms around her as she sobbed into his shoulder.

She started shaking with panic. She hadn't thought about her childhood that thoroughly in a long, long time.

"Hey, hey, it's okay!" he promised her, holding her tighter, sensing her hysteria building. "You're safe now, he's in jail, he can't hurt you anymore!" He fell silent for a moment. "Have you ever told anyone before?"

She shook her head. "Just the social worker, and as my statement in the trial against him."

"Why not?" he asked softly, pulling back from their hug but keeping his arm comfortingly around her.

"Because, Al, if everyone really knew who my father was and what my life has been like, they would probably run screaming. Even you're never going to look at me the same way again."

He took her frigid hands in his own. "Ayla, I would never do that. You need your friends now more than ever and I'm never going to run from that. I promise, Ayla. Never."

And with that, he pressed his lips into hers and the frigid night suddenly felt warmer, the weight of the world lifted off her shoulders.

**Please please please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I know that these chapters are kind of depressing, but I promise I'll get back on a happier note soon! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 11

Ayla sat on the couch, her knees pulled up to her aching chest, her eyes dried out after crying so much, her head resting on Albus's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she said tiredly, lifting her head.

Albus twisted to look at her. "For what?" he asked, stunned.

"Making you stay up all night."

"You didn't make me. I did."

That was true, Ayla knew it, but she felt guilty.

_"You're not staying alone tonight," Albus had said. _

_ "It's not like it just happened, Al. It's been happening my whole life and I've spent plenty of nights alone."_

_ "Still, I know it all came rushing back tonight. And I'm not leaving you here. Not like this."_

"Either way, thanks for staying with me," she said quietly, hugging her knees tighter to her chest.

"Anytime, I mean it. And I'm here if you want to talk, but if not, I'll leave you alone, just let me know."

She sat up farther, pulling her knees even closer to her. "I think I still want to talk," she admitted and he nodded, turning to face her.

"If you don't mind me asking, what was it like when he was arrested? Like, during the trial and all that?" Albus asked carefully, not wanting to upset her.

"The trial went on for weeks. When the cops found him, you know, when he had the knife to my throat and all that, they brought him to the station into the temporary cells until they could start the trial. He escaped from there and fled the country. He was in France by the time they found him, hiding out in a dingy hotel where he knew they wouldn't check his ID. Anyway, they eventually found him and we had the trial. Even after he was finally put in jail, I still couldn't calm myself down. Everywhere I looked, I saw him. I couldn't even go out in public without freaking out because he was _everywhere_. I still see him everywhere, but I feel a little bit safer here since it's a wizard castle and he wouldn't come here anyway." A miserable smile flashed on her face for a second. "I spent a year and a half when I was a kid in a home my parents sent me to. _Sunnydale Home for Young Wizards_. Sounds fun, huh?" she shook her head. "It's a place where muggle parents send their wizard children to…to get the magic _removed _from them. They try to force you to become a muggle again."

"Is that possible?" Albus asked, horrified.

Ayla shook her head. "I don't think so. You would think that most of the people there would find it to be the worst time of your life, but I was actually so happy to have the chance to go there. Not because I liked it but because it was a chance to get out of my house and away from my father. At least that's what I thought. But he broke in and found me again and again. The people I met there…we used to sneak out to play Quidditch; that's where I learned how to play. But one time when my father was trying to sneak in and he saw me playing Quidditch and he just went insane. He told me he had sent me there to learn how to _not _be a wizard and that's when he brought me home to…" she shook her head, trembling again. "He was _really _angry that night. That was by far the scariest night of my life. And then, of course, everyone at the facility knew what my father was doing, but it didn't matter because I never saw them again. It was hell there, but it was ten times better than my home life, so I was willing enough to stay."

"So the last time you saw your father was…?" Albus wondered.

"The day the trial ended and he was sent here. It was the farthest prison in the country from my house. Too bad it was a muggle court so they didn't know I would end up here someday, just 60 kilometers from him."

"Well, maybe you could go to the judge that got him sent to prison and ask him to send him to a different prison!" Albus suggested eagerly.

Ayla shook her head slowly, a sad smile on her face. "They'd never do it. If they get him out of that prison for even one second, there's too high of a risk that he'll escape. He's not _just _a prisoner, he's a sick monster. What kind of father…" she broke off, shaking her head.

"How do you do it?" Albus asked softly and she turned to him curiously. "How do you put on a brave face day after day and pretend like nothing's wrong when it's got to be killing you inside?"

"I never really had a choice. I mean, sure, I could cry, I could feel bad for myself but what good would it do? What would that change? It's not like it would change what happened to me."

"I guess that's true," he admitted. "So, what about your mom in all of this?"

Ayla inhaled deeply. "He did the same thing to her that he did to me. Not as often, not as bad, but he still did. She started drinking, running away from home…anything to get away from everything that was happening. I'm not too sure that I'll ever fully forgive her because she hurt me a lot too—not physically, but she left me feeling worthless a few times—but I'm way closer to forgiving her than I would ever get to forgiving my father. I'm never forgiving him."

"So your mom wasn't really there for you?"

"I guess she was afraid, I don't know. But no, she wasn't there for me. But I'm used to that; that wasn't the hard part. No one has ever been there for me. The people that found out about what happened to me…they judged me. They thought I was a bad person because, yeah, maybe I've done some things that weren't perfect. But I'm _not _a bad person, I'm just broken. I've tried for nine years to overcome what happened to me, and I'm still hurt from it." The panic was edging into her voice now. "These scars, they're what you see but they're not half of what's happened to me. It's the emotional scars, the scars in my heart and my soul, that's what really hurts me. You can cover up the scars on your skin and maybe even forget that they're there. But you can't forget about the scars in your heart because they don't fade away."

"No, they don't," Albus agreed, blinking away his tears. "But when you have people that care about you, maybe they'll start to heal."

"Maybe," she whispered, her voice shaking, and she rested her head on his shoulder again and finally fell asleep.

X

Ayla woke up three hours later, confused as to what had happened. She opened her eyes and saw the pattern of Albus's shirt and remembered. She lifted her head from his shoulder and he twisted to look at her.

"Hey," he greeted her, rubbing his eyes.

"Did you sleep?" she asked, stretching.

"Yeah, a little," he said through a deep yawn.

"Is everyone _still _asleep?"

He pushed back his sleeve and looked at his watch. "Yeah, it's ten till six."

She sighed, turning towards him, sitting up straighter, struggling over her words. He looked at her curiously, waiting to hear what she was going to say. "Look, Al, now that I've slept and thought about it, I just wanted to make sure…that kiss…it didn't mean anything to me. Same with you, right?"

Al's heart dropped but he quickly recomposed himself. "Y-yeah, of course. Nothing at all."

"Okay, cool. Just making sure."

Al nodded slowly, unsure of what to say. Ayla saw a red-haired girl exit the third year girls' dormitory and Al leapt off the couch, thankful for the distraction.

"Rose!" he called and she smiled, walking over to him. "Ayla, this is my cousin Rose.

Ayla smiled sweetly. "Hi, I'm Ayla."

"Oh, _you're _Ayla! Hi!"

Unsure of what to make of her surprised tone, Ayla smiled back.

"It's great to meet you," Ayla said kindly. "Oh, wait, you're Hugo's sister!" she exclaimed, suddenly making the connection.

"Yeah," Rose said with a smile. "Hey, Al, my mom and dad got sort of mad that I haven't been spending enough time with everyone else in the family. We're all going to go to Hagrid's for lunch if you want to come!"

"Yeah, I'll be there," Albus promised.

"Cool. Well, I'll talk to you later; I'm heading down to an early breakfast."

"See you later."

As she left, Albus turned back to Ayla. "You're coming to Hagrid's with us," he told her simply.

"Oh, no, I don't want to intrude on your family time," she said politely and he shook his head.

"You never had a chance to have a family. I'm giving you a chance to be a part of mine."

**Thanks for reading and please review! :D **


	12. Chapter 12

**I was super excited to write this chapter, especially the first part because that's the only part I had actually planned out. I know it took me a long time to get to this important stuff but I finally introduced a bunch of characters, so I really hope you like it! Thank you so, so much to everyone who reviewed! **

Chapter 12

Ayla put her hands in the pockets of her hoodie to warm them as she and Albus trudged through the snow to get to Hagrid's.

As they reached the door, Ayla drew back slightly, turning to Albus.

"Albus, I really don't want to intrude…I mean, your family doesn't know me and—"

"Then let them," he said simply. "Let them get to know you." With that, he opened the door.

"Albus!" exclaimed Hagrid in his deep voice.

"Hey, Hagrid, this is Ayla. You guys met on her first night here."

"Ah, sure!" he clapped Ayla's shoulder and she was launched against the stone wall. She straightened up, rubbing her shoulder. Albus moved past Hagrid to see his cousins who were already there.

"Alright, everyone, this is Ayla. Ayla, this is Dominique, she's seventeen, Louis, who's fifteen, Fred and Roxanne, Fred's fourteen and Roxanne is also eleven. This is Molly, she's fifteen, and Lucy, she's eleven too. Uh, you met Rose and obviously you know Hugo."

Ayla smiled and shook hands with them all. The door opened again and James and Lily entered.

"Sorry we're late," Lily said, moving to talk to her cousins.

"Hey, Ayla," James greeted her, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Hey, James," she said, turning towards him, but she was interrupted by Roxanne and Lucy.

"Hi," they greeted her.

"Hi!" she said sweetly. "I've seen you guys around in some classes and in the halls but I had no idea you were Al and James and Lily and Hugo's family. It's really great to finally meet you."

"You too!" they both exclaimed.

Ayla smiled at them both, looking around and feeling so strangely like she belonged. It was hard to believe that just a few hours ago she was hit with a fit of hysteria and now she was here, happier than she had been in a long, long time.

X

The next week came and went, with Ayla feeling lighthearted now that she had finally confessed that big secret of her life. She sat at dinner on Friday between Liam and Lily with Albus across from her, who was flanked by James and Bradley, with Hugo next to Brad.

"So, we were going to have Potions homework for the weekend, and Slughorn was going to give us the ingredients for this potion, but he couldn't find them! So now we have _no _homework!" Lily was telling the group.

"He lost them, huh?" Albus asked, winking at Ayla.

"Oh no, Al, what did you do this time?" Lily asked.

"Oh, nothing," Albus assured her. "James, Ayla, and I might just need that particular ingredient for a potion we're making."

Lily looked at them suspiciously and Ayla hid a smile, her dark eyes sparkling. Al's eyes connecting and he noticed how truly happy she looked.

"James, you better not be pranking me!" Lily protested, biting her lip.

"I wouldn't let him, I promise," Ayla assured her and Lily smiled in relief. "We're actually not pranking anyone; we're being matchmakers."

Albus pointed at Ayla. "Her idea," he explained.

James sighed. "But it's kind of perfect so we agreed."

"Ooh, what is it?" Lily asked, leaning forward.

"Yes, please, do tell," Bradley said sarcastically, twirling a carrot around on his fork.

"Alright, well I helped this third year Ravenclaw I met in the library with a Potions assignment. Anyway, I go to talking to her and she was talking about her ex-boyfriend and that led to talking about her ideal boyfriend…" Ayla paused dramatically. "And Sheldon would be _perfect_."

"And, let's face it, he needs a date," James admitted. Albus nodded in agreement.

"That reminds me," Bradley segued, pushing up his sleeves and leaning onto the table. "Guess who has a date with a second year?"

Everyone exchanged a glance, eyebrows raised. "Really?" Liam asked, amazed.

"Mm-Hmm," he said proudly, leaning back. "Her name is Natasha and I'm meeting her for dinner tomorrow night off of Hogwarts grounds."

"Wow, Brad, I'm impressed!" Ayla laughed.

"I know, and you should _see _her too!" he exclaimed. "But I might need some style advice," he admitted and Ayla laughed.

"I'll help you," Ayla agreed. "But right now, we've got some business to take care of," she said, flashing them a view of the vile of love potion for Sheldon. She held it out to James and he shook his head.

"Sheldon won't drink anything he thinks I've touched."

"Fine," she sighed, disguising it in her sleeve and walking over to where Sheldon was sitting. "Excuse me," she said, "I just need to get some of this turkey." She said, leaning over him to reach a platter of turkey. As she served the turkey, she tipped her hand down so the potion poured into his goblet. "Sorry," she apologized sweetly and returned to her seat. She set the turkey between Albus and James, then grabbed an untouched goblet and emptied the rest of the potion into it. Albus grabbed it and looked at the potion they had created while Ayla took another bite of her dinner. She reached to take the Goblet back and Albus passed her the potion and her own goblet.

"Take yours too so it looks less suspicious."

She nodded in agreement. "Wait, which is which?"

"The one in your left hand is hers, the right hand is yours."

"Be right back," she said, standing up and walking to the Ravenclaw table with the goblet in her hand. She sat down next to the girl. "Hey, Miranda, see that guy over there?" she pointed at Sheldon and the girl followed her gaze. She nodded and Ayla turned back to her. "He asked me to bring you a drink. He saw you and thought you were really pretty."

Miranda blushed, looking back over at him. "Really?" she asked, smiling.

Ayla beamed. "Yeah, he's really into you. He's a fourth year, too."

"A _fourth _year?" Miranda repeated in shock and Ayla nodded fervently.

"You guys should go out tomorrow," Ayla encouraged.

"Are you sure he likes me?"

"Totally sure," she promised.

"Can you help me pick out my outfit and makeup and all that?"

"Definitely," Ayla promised, grinning. "Meet me tomorrow at four in the fifth floor corridor."

Miranda agreed and Ayla headed back to her table, taking a sip of the goblet. She frowned as she sat down.

"Al, I'm pretty sure I had water, but this is sweet. Did you give me your goblet by accident?"

He shook his head. "I had water too."

She slammed it on the table, eyes widening. "Oh, no," she murmured. "I think I just drank the love potion."

James dropped his fork, snatching the goblet and smelling the liquid inside. "Yeah, that's the love potion alright," he coughed. Ayla's hand flew to her mouth.

"Al, you told me that the love potion was in my left hand!"

"I was never really good with my cardinal directions," he admitted and Liam snorted.

"Cardinal directions are north, east, south, and west, dumbass!" James exclaimed, passing Ayla a goblet of water.

"What happens now?" Albus asked.

"I don't think she drank enough of it to fall in love with him. You have to drink all of it for that."

"So, what, then?" Ayla asked him and James broke eye contact, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

"He, uh, he might…he might fall in love with you."

Ayla ran a hand through her hair. "You know what; we only gave Sheldon a little bit of it so it might not be that strong. We'll just have to wait it out and pray that Sheldon and Miranda hit it off. We might be okay here."

"There's no way he'll fall so hard for Miranda that it'll counter the love potion; that's impossible," Al argued.

"Nothing we can do about it now," Ayla said, shrugging and sitting back down.

"That's it?" Lily demanded. "I mean, you're not going to freak out or anything?"

"She's probably used to guys falling for her," Albus said simply and Ayla turned to him. He blushed and looked away. Ayla returned to her meal, biting her lip awkwardly. "So anyway," Albus changed the subject. "Since Christmas is next weekend, I was thinking of going to Hogsmeade for some Christmas shopping. You guys in?"

"I thought they had scheduled trips for third years and above," Lily said. "At least that's what dad told me."

"Eh, dad's old," Albus dismissed. "That's not how they do it anymore. First years can come if they're accompanied by a third year or older and you can go any day as long as you get a teacher to sign a note for you saying that you were allowed to go. There's a guard at the entrance to the village and he checks your pass."

"Cool, let's go tomorrow," James suggested. "Are you guys staying for the holidays?"

"Yeah, sure, it's open on Sundays, right?" Albus asked and James nodded. "We're both staying," Albus continued.

"I'm staying," Ayla agreed. _Where else would I go? _She wondered to herself.

"I'm going home," Lily said and Ayla looked disappointed.

"Staying," Bradley and Liam said together and now it was Lily's turn to be disappointed.

"I'm the _only _one who's leaving?" she demanded sadly.

"Well, then I will make sure to get you your present early!" Ayla said cheerily and Lily cracked a smile. "Then we have to go tomorrow, because break starts on Wednesday and you _have _to come to Hogsmeade," Ayla continued.

She noticed Albus staring at her and she glanced at him curiously.

"Just trying to figure out what to get you, Torres."

And there it was. _Torres. _Ayla couldn't help but smile when she realized he was treating her no differently than he had before he found out about her life. She looked down, trying to conceal her smile as her heart fluttered.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi! I hope you really like it so far, and please review! Also, I know it seems like James has kind of been neglected as a character, but don't worry about it, he'll come in too! There's actually a lot more of James in this chapter than I've written recently, and I have a huge James scene coming up in a couple of chapters. :) please review!**

Chapter 13

Ayla, Albus, James, Lily, Liam, Hugo, and Brad stood in front of Professor McGonagall early the next morning.

"And what is your reason for visit?" she asked distractedly and she squeezed all of their names onto a small slip of paper.

"Christmas shopping," Albus replied and she passed him the note. "Thanks."

They exited the castle, bundled up in coats, scarves, and gloves.

"Hey, Brad, you can buy a new outfit for your date tonight," Ayla suggested and he cursed.

"Oh, god, I forgot!" he panicked, biting his thumbnail nervously.

"Brad, calm down, it's going to go great," Ayla assured him.

Liam exhaled, his breath forming a foggy clump in the cold air in front of him, and shoved his hands deep in his pockets. "Jeez, Albus, why did we go this early? The sun's barely up yet."  
"It's the Sunday before Christmas," Albus said. "It's going to be pretty crowded later."

"Plus Brad needs at least seven hours to do his hair," James joked, grinning broadly, and Bradley shoved his shoulder.

"By the way, who goes on a date on a Sunday night?" Liam asked his friend.

James snorted. "First years who still aren't getting any," he joked, earning a disgusted noise from his sister.

"Oh, like you are?" Brad demanded and James lifted the corner of his mouth in a truce.

They reached the entrance to the village, where a grumpy-looking security guard stood. Albus fumbled to grab the note with his numb hands and the guard snatched it, looked at it, and gave them a stiff nod. They passed by him into the snow-dusted village.

They passed a clothing store first, and Ayla pointed it out.

"Oh, yeah, I'll go pick something out!" Brad said. "I need a girl's opinion," he admitted and Ayla followed him in.

Lily, James, and Hugo said they were going to go save a table at a restaurant. The group had woken up so early that breakfast at the castle was not open yet. Liam ducked into a pet store and Albus joined Ayla and Brad.

"I'll keep you company," he said, shooting her a grin. Ayla smiled in thanks and immediately went to work searching the store. She emerged from a mass of fabric a few moments later with a pair of khakis, a white pinstriped oxford, and a navy sweater. She approached the spot where Bradley and Albus were waiting awkwardly, having never been in a store like this before.

"Try this on," she commanded, and Bradley examined it approvingly before sliding behind the curtain of a dressing room. Ayla and Albus sat down on the small bench across from the curtain, waiting for Brad. He appeared moments later, wearing the outfit.

"I like it," he said, but Ayla stood up.

"The khakis are too light," she said, dashing to grab another pair, but ended up returning with at seven pairs. "We need the perfect pair," she explained, sitting back down while Brad returned to the fitting room.

While waiting for Brad to try on a pair, Albus grabbed a hideous dress off of a rack he could reach without standing up. He held it up. "Hey, Torres, you should try this on," he said sarcastically.

"In your dreams, Potter," Ayla scoffed jokingly. Albus figured out why she had said that when he noticed the dress's plunging neckline. He blushed and put the hanger back on the rack.

Brad stepped out from behind the curtain again. "How about these?" he asked.

Ayla bit her lip, contemplating. "Hmm…try going one shade darker. They're still too light; it looks a little summer-y."

Al threw his head back in boredom after the next three pairs. "Oh, my god, when is he going to be done?" he groaned.

Ayla laughed. "What, not enjoying the fashion show?"

"How many shades of khaki can there be?"

"A lot," Bradley interjected as he stepped out of the fitting room wearing the outfit that he had come in.

"Thank God," Albus muttered, standing up.

"I'll get these," he said, holding up one pair and tossing the rest on the reject rack. They walked to the check-out counter and Brad purchased the outfit. "Thanks, Ayla," he said as they exited the store into the biting cold.

"James, Lily, and Hugo are at the Three Broomsticks," Albus told them. "You've got to try their butterbeer; it's incredible."

They entered the restaurant and were greeted by a hostess who appeared to be in her sixties.

"Well, if it isn't Albus Potter!" she exclaimed. "My, it has been a long time since I have seen you, boy!"

"Hi, Madam Rosmerta," she returned, his cheeks flushing from the cold and embarrassment.

"Aww," Ayla said through a smile as the lady led them to James, Lily, and Hugo's table, earning a gentle shove from Albus. They sat down with their friends and saw that Liam was already there.

"Did you get your outfit?" James asked and Brad nodded, shivering.

"Madam Rosmerta, we'll have another round of butterbeers," James requested.

"You got it, hun!" she agreed, heading off to the kitchen.

James was also blushing as she walked away, and was exchanging a glance with his brother.

"What?" Brad asked, not understanding their secret exchange.

Both boys burst into sheepish laughter.

"Uncle Ron told us that she used to be really hot when he was a student," James explained and Hugo looked disgusted.

"Ew!" he exclaimed. "That's my dad you're talking about!"

"Speaking of hot…" Brad returned to his favorite topic of discussion, "Wait until you see my date tonight."

The table laughed at Brad's persistence as Madam Rosmerta returned with a tray of butterbeers. She placed one in front of each person at the table.

Ayla examined it. "Is there alcohol in here?"

"Ah, scared of getting drunk?" Albus teased playfully.

She didn't answer and he suddenly realized why the answer was actually yes.

"Oh!" he exclaimed in realization. "Just a little bit, like, fractional amounts. Believe me, my Aunt Hermione is a stickler for rules and even she drank it."

Ayla cautiously took a sip and then her eyes widened. "Oh, my god, that's so good."

Al grinned. "Isn't it?" He took a sip as well.

Ayla looked at an old clock on the wall. "At four o'clock, I have to meet Miranda to get her ready for her date. And then we get to the fun part: we find out whether or not Sheldon fell in love with me."

Albus snorted. "I almost forgot! That'll be interesting."

Ayla gave him a playful glare and slunk down in her seat slightly. "He better not be," she said. "And I'm not saying that to be mean; it's just that I don't even know him, and we're three years apart anyway."

Unnoticed by Ayla, both Potter boys flinched slightly.

"Should we order breakfast now?" James suggested to change the subject.

"Yeah," everyone agreed. The menu had two menus, so James, Lily, and Hugo huddled around one, and Albus, Brad, Ayla, and Liam crowded around the other.

They ended up ordering pancakes all around, and left feeling full.

"Okay, well, I'll go with Lily first and get all of your Christmas presents done," Ayla said to the group. "And then I'll go with one of you to get Lily's present."

She walked off with Lily through the village.

"So, where do you want to go?" she asked her and Lily shrugged helplessly.

"I have _no _idea what I even want to get anyone."

"Yeah, neither do I. Hopefully I'll find something that jumps out at me," she said as they entered a huge joke shop. "Wow," Ayla said in awe as they walked into the store.

Lily grinned. "My Uncle George owns this place," she told her. "He and his brother opened it when they were out of Hogwarts. The first location was in Diagon Alley, but they opened one here too."

"It's amazing," Ayla said. "Your uncle must be really cool."

"He is," Lily said brightly, beaming. "I wonder if he's here. He likes to rotate between the two locations."

Ayla looked around on the shelves while Lily went to look for her uncle. She found a box with a title in curly letter that read, _The Ultimate Wizard Prank Kit_. It contained fake wands and quills, invisible ink, some potion ingredients, and a whole bunch of other stuff that Ayla had never seen.

"Perfect," she said to herself, grabbing two off the shelf; one for Albus and one for James. She headed to check out and find Lily behind the checkout counter with a tall red-haired man. His hair was mussed and he looked very gangly for his age.

"Ayla, this is my Uncle George," Lily introduced.

"Hi, it's so nice to meet you!" Ayla said sweetly, shaking his hand.

"Oh, yes, I've heard all about you!" he exclaimed, shaking her hand and then checking the two boxes she had brought to the counter.

"That'll be ten galleons, please."

Ayla passed the money to him and he thanked her. Lily said goodbye to him and they left the store. Following the joke shop, they entered at least a dozen stores, and Ayla ended up buying the prank kits for Al and James, a signed Victor Krum poster for Liam (his favorite player), a bunch of candy from Honeydukes for Hugo, and a watch for Bradley.

They met up with Albus, James, and Hugo when they left the watch shop.

"Liam and Brad are still off somewhere," Al said.

"Alright, I'll go with Al and James and you go with Hugo?" Ayla offered and Lily nodded.

Ayla set off with Albus and James, folding her arms over her chest to keep warm, shivering violently.

"Ayla, you look _freezing_," Albus commented and James jumped into action, handing her his jacket.

"Are you sure?" she asked and he nodded. Ayla pulled on the jacket. "Thank you," she said gratefully, hugging him from the side.

The corner of Al's mouth turned down as he wished he had thought of that first.

"Hold on, I want to go into this store!" Ayla exclaimed, stepping into a shop next to them. She scurried to the back of the store and returned with a gold tote bag. "This is so perfect!" she exclaimed, holding it up. Clueless, the boys just stared at her. "You know Lily; she tries to carry her books to every class and usually ends up dropping them multiple times between each class, so this is perfect."

She purchased the bag and then stepped out of the store. "I was in Honeydukes earlier, but I need to go again because I completely forgot that I need to buy some stuff to send home. I figured wizard candy would be pretty cool to them."

"That is by far the best store in here, next to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, of course," Al said excitedly as they entered the candy shop.

Ayla purchased a huge variety of candy for her relatives and as they left the store, she paused to consider something. "I'm going to need a way to deliver these home…" she said distractedly.

"Oh, no…" Albus muttered, knowing her train of thought.

"I've always wanted an owl," she admitted, drifting toward the wizard pet store. "Oh, my god, look at that one in the window!" She pointed to a dark owl with orangey feathers mixed in and big orange eyes. She dashed into the store and Albus and James laughed incredulously as they followed.

Ayla was speaking to the store owner when they found her.

"What is that owl's name over there?" she asked.

"That is Athena," the old man replied.

"I'll take her!" Ayla exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.

"She's relatively young," the owner warned and Ayla shook her head to say it was no problem, beaming. She paid for the owl and nearly skipped out of the store, so happy with her newest purchase.

They met up with the rest of the group and headed back to the castle, filled with Christmas spirit.

X

Ayla waited in the hall for Miranda to meet up with her before her date with Sheldon. James waited with her, eager to hear Miranda talk about Sheldon. They heard footsteps coming around the corner and turned to see Miranda.

"Hey, Ayla," she greeted her, then looked at James and instantly blushed. "What do you think I should wear for my date with Sheldon? I talked to him at breakfast today and he said he's taking me to the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. So I know I have to be casual, but I don't know what to do! All I ever wear is my Hogwarts robes!" she said frantically.

"Alright, we'll figure something out. You can borrow something of mine."

"Excellent," Miranda said. "They might be too small on me, but I know a clothes-altering spell!"

"How convenient," Ayla replied, not knowing what else to say, as they headed into a nearby girls' bathroom, James tagging along awkwardly.

James stood uncomfortably in the doorway and Ayla turned to look at him. "It's going to be even more obvious that you're here if you stand there at the door," she told him as she sat Miranda down on the chair that Ayla had put in front of the large mirror above the sink. She held up the outfit of jeans, a flowery shirt, and a cardigan that she had placed in the room while she was waiting for Miranda. "Perfect!" she exclaimed, handing her the outfit. Miranda quickly performed her spell and headed into the stall. Ayla turned to James and sat down next to him.

"I don't think she's going to say anything about Sheldon until after their date," she admitted in a whisper. "So we won't know if the love potion worked until tomorrow."  
Before James could answer, Miranda emerged, looking nervous.

"You look amazing!" she exclaimed. "Now for your hair and makeup...what time is your date?"

"Five o'clock."

"_Five_?" James repeated incredulously and Ayla glared at him.

"Well, he wanted to be back in time to read the paper before he goes to bed. You know, since we have school tomorrow."

"O—of course," James managed, his mouth twitching as he suppressed his laughter.

"Alright, then I need to get started. Sit here again if you don't mind." She reached for her hair straightener and makeup case, knowing that there was probably a spell to help with this but wanting to do it the long way anyway. She immediately went to work with her hair and makeup supplies, with a series of gels, sprays, creams, mousses, and makeup products that James didn't understand. Ayla stepped back when she was finished and Miranda looked amazed when she opened her eyes.

"Thank you so, so much!" she said sincerely to Ayla, giving her a hug. "I really hope Sheldon has fun tonight."

"He _definitely _will," Ayla assured her. "Have a blast and promise you'll tell me all about it tomorrow."

"I promise," Miranda said, beaming, and left the bathroom to meet up with Sheldon.

Ayla turned back to her makeup and hair supplies, packing them up quickly. "Alright, I have got to get to Brad to give him the style advice that he, for some reason, thinks he needs."

"I can't walk out of the girls' bathroom!" James exclaimed. "Walking in is one thing because I can see if there's anyone in the hall, but…"

"Well then you shouldn't have come in!" Ayla exclaimed, not knowing how to help him.

But James wasn't listening, he was scanning the ceiling. "Where is the…" he murmured, then stopped when he appeared to have found what he was looking for. He grabbed his shoe and tossed it at one of the ceiling tiles, which popped up easily. He slid his shoe back on and used the sink to climb up and hoist himself up into the ceiling. He peeked his head down once he was up.

"Remember that short cut we found that one day when Al and I were giving you guys a tour? Well, that was amateur. _This _is what you call pro," he said, grinning, and slid the tile back in place.

Ayla laughed once and exited the bathroom, returning to the Gryffindor common room. Brad was waiting on an armchair, and he sprung to his feet when he saw her. He was wearing the outfit he had bought that day.

"You look nice!" she exclaimed. "Where are you taking her?"

He blushed. "I'm taking her to an Italian restaurant in a town near here. If you go out the front of the castle, it's just a couple of kilometers to get there."

"Ooh, fancy!" Ayla said, laughing. "So, what do you want me to do?"

"Help me with my hair. Should I leave it all messed up or gel it?"

"I think it's too short to be messed up, so just leave it the way it is. Seriously, Brad, don't freak out, it'll be fine."

"Thanks," he said, running a hand over his cropped blonde hair.

"Anytime," she promised. "I'm going to go make a phone call—muggle thing—but have fun on your date."

"Thanks," he said again as Ayla entered her dormitory. She smiled when she saw her owl perched on the window sill. She pulled her cell phone from her back pocket and dialed the number to make the phone call she had been dreading.

For once, she was relieved to get her voicemail.

_Hi, you've reached the Torres-Almendarez residence. Please leave a message after the beep._

"Uh, hey, anyone who's at home," she said. "Whoever is listening to this, _you _can translate it to mom because I'm tired of doing it all on my own. I'm not going to be home for Christmas. It's my first year that I have a chance of not spending Christmas totally alone. And if I could stay here all year round, including summers, I'd do that too. Yeah, I'm happy. None of you wanted this for me but I'm happy. Enjoy your lonely Christmas." She hung up, anger flooding through her, and threw her phone onto the bed.

**Okay, so that last scene might have seemed weird, but don't worry, it'll be explained why she was so angry. I know this was kind of a girly chapter too, so I hope you still enjoyed it! Please review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**I'm so sorry this took so long to post! I've been busy with school stuff since the end of the year is coming up soon. I really hope you like this chapter because I loved writing it and the last scene was something I have been waiting to write for so long so I really hope you like it! Please review!**

Chapter 14

The following morning at breakfast, Ayla slipped away from the table to talk to Miranda.

"Hey!" she exclaimed as she sat down. "How was your date?"

"It was _amazing_, Sheldon is so sweet!"

"Nice!" Ayla exclaimed.

"I think he was actually really into me too! We're going out again on Friday."

"I'm so happy for you!" Ayla said sincerely, relief flooding through her that the love potion had not worked. "I've got to go finish breakfast before class, but I'm really glad you guys hit it off!" She returned to her table, grinning at her friends, who were all watching her. "He really liked her," she said, beaming. James' and Al's faces erupted into grins.

"Yes!" they exclaimed, smacking each other's shoulders in victory.

Bradley came in late, as usual, and sat down next to them.

"What's going on?" he asked, pushing up his sleeves.

"How did your date go?" Ayla asked eagerly.

"_Amazing_," Brad enthused, grinning. A cocky smirk spread across his face. "I may or may not have kissed her."

James gave him a high-five and Ayla laughed.

"So, when do we get to meet her?" she asked, feeling strangely happy today despite her bout of anger the night before.

"Not yet," Brad told them, winking. "You'll be like the embarrassing parents that I never want to introduce my girlfriend to."

Liam laughed, leaning forward. "Oh, you can be sure of that," he said, earning a loud laugh from Ayla.

"We should probably head to class," Ayla said, picking up her Potions books. Albus and James waved as Ayla, Liam, Hugo, and Lily left. They entered the potions classroom and sat down under Slughorn's gaze.

"Today you'll be making an antidote to many common poisons. This is a very useful potion because it is an antidote to many common poisons."

"You don't say," Liam muttered under his breath and Ayla giggled. Slughorn shot him a glare and Liam looked away.

"You may begin," Slughorn continued, ignoring the interruption. "The potion has a cooking time, so during this break you can do pages 112 through 117 in the textbook."

Ayla lifted her cauldron onto the table and flipped open to the recipe. Following the instructions, she crushed a bezoar and added 4 measures of it into the cauldron, then tossed in 2 measures of standard ingredient. After heating the potion and waving her wand, she sat down and flipped open to page 112 and took out a piece of parchment.

Liam, who was still crushing his bezoar, gaped at her. "How did you finish that fast?" he demanded. She stood back up, stepping toward his mortar. She took the pestle from his hand.

"You have to crush it like _this_, and twist it to grind up the bezoar. Just smashing it won't get you anywhere." She held it out and he took it, setting it back on the table.

By the time Ayla finished the textbook work, the potion was done brewing and it was time for her to continue the making of it. She added a bit of unicorn horns, stirred it twice, added mistletoe berries, stirred it another 2 times in the opposite direction, and waved her wand again to finish it off.

Liam glanced at her bubbling potion, then looked at his own, which looked strangely like mud. He glanced around for Slughorn, then turned back to Ayla.

"Hey!" he hissed. "Can you pour some of that into my cauldron?"

"No!" she exclaimed, swatting his hand away.

"C'mon, even if Sluggy finds out, he loves you! He's not gonna care! But he hates me, so if I don't finish the potion, I'll be dead meat."

"Sluggy?" Ayla repeated, fighting a grin. "Alright, I'll help you. But you don't need my potion." She looked around before stepping in front of him to reach his potion. "Keep an eye out for Slughorn," she said, waving her wand to turn the sludge into a perfect bubbly potion."

"Where did you learn that?" Liam demanded in awe.

"I read," she said simply, stepping aside as Slughorn re-entered the room.

"Excellent as always, Miss Torres," he said, and his eyes popped when he caught sight of Liam's potion. "Mr. Taylor, I am shocked! This is incredible!"

"What can I say, Professor? I aim to please," he said casually and Ayla snorted.

"Very impressive, Mr. Taylor," Slughorn said, continuing to pace the classroom. Liam smirked and flopped down in his seat.

"Hey, did you hear that McGonagall isn't here?" Liam asked.

"Yeah, I heard, but she's in the building. She's feeling sick so she stayed in bed."

"Dinner is going to suck, then," said Liam glumly. "You know, 'cause she won't be there to zap all the food onto the table."

Ayla raised her eyebrows. "I'm pretty sure that any other Professor here is probably capable of doing that."

"Oh, yeah," Liam said awkwardly, looking down. He bit his lip and looked back up at Ayla. "Hey, why don't we ditch the dinner and eat on the astronomy tower? James showed me how to sneak into the kitchen to get food and we could eat it up there instead. Just, you know, it's really loud in the Great Hall and the teachers are there and all that…what do you think?"

"Uh, yeah, sounds great," Ayla said kindly, slightly surprised.

"Cool," he said with a grin. "I'll see you later," he added as the bell rang.

"You're not coming to Defense against the Dark Arts?" she asked as they walked toward the common room.

"Nah," he said casually. "I think I'm gonna sleep instead.

Ayla laughed. "Sweet dreams," she joked as they entered the common room and he stepped into his dormitory.

She nearly bumped into James as she headed to her dormitory to exchange her books.

"Oh, hey, James!" she exclaimed.

"Hey," he said with a grin. "What class are you going to?"

"Dark Arts," she replied. "I have to switch out my books, but I'll be right back." She walked into her dormitory, shoved her Potions books in her drawer and grabbed her Dark Arts books, then headed back into the common room where James was patiently waiting.

"Back," she announced, sitting down next to him and keeping an eye on the clock to make sure she wasn't late for her next class.

"What's up?" he asked and Ayla shrugged simply.

"Another Potions class," she told him. "Not much to say about it."

"Ah, no bird pecking out anyone's eyes?" he asked, earning a laugh from her.

"Not this time!"

"What a shame," he said sarcastically.

"So, what class do you have next?"

"History of Magic," he said grumpily. "Worst class _ever_."

"Oh, looking forward to it," she said with a grimace. "Well, I should probably head to Dark Arts."

"Tell the old Ass-bomb I said hello."

"I will," Ayla said through her laughter as she left the common room.

James gazed after her, waiting for the smile to fade from his face.

X

After all of her classes were finished for the day and Ayla had finished her homework at the library, she returned to her dormitory to put all of her books away. She looked in the mirror as she brushed her hair, then left the dormitory to head to the astronomy tower. As she cut through the common room, she heard a voice call her name.

"Hey, Ayla!" she turned to see Albus and she smiled at him. "Hey, save me a seat in the Great Hall," he said, walking over to her.

"Oh, I, uh—I'm not going to the Great Hall tonight. Liam and I are picnicking on the astronomy tower."

"O—oh. Y-yeah," Al said awkwardly. "I have—I have plans anyway. I told some buddies I would sit with them, so it's all good."

"Oh, that's fun!" Ayla said kindly at his obvious lie. "Well, I've gotta go; I'll see you later."

"Yeah, later," he said quietly, but she was already gone. As the door closed behind her, Al collapsed onto the armchair behind him, a hollow pain in the left side of his chest.

X

Albus still sat in this position, flopped down with his head tilted back, feet up on the table, when James saw him.

"Hey, man," James said, sitting down next to his brother. When Albus didn't respond, he looked at him, concerned. "You okay?"

Al shrugged and James frowned.

"How come you weren't at dinner?"

He shrugged again.

"Were you with Ayla? She wasn't there either."

He shook his head. "Ayla went to dinner with Liam," he said dully and James sat back slowly. Once Albus had told his brother this, he couldn't stop the rant that followed. "I shouldn't be surprised," he said sadly. "I mean, why would she want to go out with me? She's only eleven and for some reason I thought she would ever even think of dating someone who's two years older than her. What the hell is wrong with me, James?" he dropped his head into his hands. "I'll never have a chance with her. Not in this lifetime."

James suddenly leapt off his chair, causing Albus to lift his head from his hands.

"You think you have it tough, Al?" he bellowed. "Ayla is _three _years younger than me and you have ten times more of a chance than I _ever _will!"

Albus stared at him deadly. "You're in love with Ayla," he stated dully and James sighed, sitting down next to him and shaking his head at the situation.

"I don't think I knew it until now," he admitted. "And you?"

"I knew it all along," he said. "But it really hit me tonight when I found out that she was with Liam."

James put his arm around Albus bracingly. "What are we gonna do about it, bro?"

Al shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know. I really don't know, man."

**Ahhh let me know what you think please!**


	15. Chapter 15

**I really hope you guys like it! The next chapter might take a few days to post because I realized the other day that my chapters are very short and if I keep them at this length, the story will be so many chapters by the end! So I'm working on writing longer chapters but I'm always so excited to update that it never works out :p But please review and I hope you like it!**

Chapter 15

Ayla was awoken the next morning by a pillow hitting her face and Lily jumping on her mattress.

"Ayla, wake up!"

"What?" Ayla asked groggily.

"I need details on your date with Liam!"

Ayla propped herself up on her elbows. "What time is it?" she asked tiredly.

"It's _spill_-o'clock. So _spill_, now!"

"Seriously, what time is it?" Ayla mumbled.

"4:30."

Ayla groaned and rolled over, pulling a pillow over her face.

"Come on, Ayla! I can't fall back asleep; I crashed super early last night! Details, details, details, _please_!"

Ayla sighed, sitting up and rubbing her eyes until her vision blurred. She dropped her hands and looked at Lily.

"Alright, fine," she began and Lily squealed. "So, when I got up there, Liam had a whole bunch of food laid out on a blanket with two lawn chairs and he had soda in champagne glasses, and—"

"Aww!" Lily exclaimed and Ayla continued.

"So, we ate dinner and then started finding shapes out of the stars…that's pretty much it."

"What time did you get back?"

"Around eleven or so."

Lily raised her eyebrows. "Then that is _not _all you did."

"No, really, we ate and then looked at the stars for a while and then we just went for a walk. It was really fun, though, he's…he's such a sweet guy."

"That's so cute, Ayla," Lily told her sincerely and Ayla smiled in thanks.

"I think we're hanging out after classes tomorrow too," Ayla said. "Since that's when break starts and we won't have class the next day."

"Aw!" Lily exclaimed again.

"So, is there anyone that you like?" Ayla asked.

"N-no," Lily lied, blushing.

"Oh, come on, I dished; now you have to dish too."

"Fine," Lily said reluctantly. "But you _can't _tell him."

"I won't, I promise."

"I kind of like Brad," Lily admitted, blushing furiously.

Ayla could not help her jaw dropping but she quickly recomposed herself. "O—oh," she said in surprise. "You should go for it!"

"He's with that second year, though. She's all he ever talks about."

Ayla shrugged dismissively. "That's not going to last forever, we all know it."

Lily sighed. "I guess that's true."

"You should spend more time with him now. That way, when he eventually gets over the girl he's into, he'll turn to you."

Lily nodded, seeing the logic in that. "That makes sense," she admitted. "But anyway, we have school today and tomorrow and then it's break, so it'll be a while till I see him."

"Don't worry, Lily, nothing is going to happen in the week and a half that you'll be gone." She looked at her clock on the nightstand and sighed. "We still have two and a half hours until school," she said, flopping onto her back.

"I'm going to finish my homework," Lily announced.

"And I'm going to go get ready," Ayla replied, stepping into the bathroom. As she got ready for the day, she counted down the moments until she would next see Liam.

X

Albus and James were awake as well; having never gone back to their dormitories. They now sat in an unused classroom, sitting on top of the dusty desks. They had spent all night talking about Ayla.

"Albus, you've spent hours talking about how you don't think you have a chance with Ayla, but you haven't told me why. Why don't you think she would go out with you?"

Albus sighed, sliding down into the chair behind the desk. James followed his lead and sat in the chair next to his.

"She just…we're friends and all, but I don't think she would ever want to be more than that. I just think that we started out with her thinking of me as a friend and nothing can change that. But you, James, you get girls. I can't even count how many girlfriends you've had."

"Yeah, but I've never felt this way about any of them."

"But still, you know how to charm a girl and how to get her to go out with you! I can't do that; I've never even had a girlfriend _ever_."

"Yeah, but Albus, you're the type of person that girls _like_. The type of guy that they want to have a relationship with and the type of guy that they want to talk to. I'm not. I'm the type of guy that girls will have a _thing _with but not the type that they want to be with for a long time." He sighed. "If girls want to talk to someone, they're going to come to you because you're sweet and sympathetic, but I can't be! If girls need a shoulder to cry on…have you ever seen me around someone who was crying? I don't do tears very well; I can't handle tears! And…if I want to be with Ayla…I'm going to have to change and get over that because…" he paused, looking down. "I know that _something _has happened to her in her life. Something terrible, and I don't know what it is but I know that there _is _something. She has the saddest eyes of anyone I've ever met; have you ever noticed that? I mean, she puts on a brave face but there's _something _killing her inside."

"Yeah," Albus said softly, looking down. "I have noticed that. But I love her eyes."

"Do you know what she's been through that's made her so sad?"

"No," he lied. "I don't think she talks about it."

James looked down sadly. "I'm just not strong enough to be there for her because someday she's going to need someone to help her through her tears and I just…I just can't."

"I guess we'll have to see if Liam can," Albus said simply and James gave a single sad laugh.

"Yeah," James agreed softly. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."

X

Later that morning at breakfast, Ayla entered the Great Hall with Liam, who she had met up with in the common room. Albus slid over to make room for them next to him, but to his dismay, Liam sat right next to him rather than Ayla.

When Ayla had finished her breakfast, she reached for her books but Liam beat her to it.

"I've got them," he said politely and she smiled in thanks. Albus watched them leave and his heart sank as he saw Ayla's hand intertwined with Liam's.

The day passed by like a blur, as did the shortened classes the next day. They had a half day as their kickoff into break. Ayla and Liam were going to the Three Broomsticks for dinner and Brad had reluctantly agreed to go on a double date with them. Ayla, Liam, Brad, Hugo, James, and Albus were saying goodbye to Lily as she left for break.

"Say hi to Dad for me," Albus said and James gave a small grunt in agreement. Ayla hugged her goodbye and they all waved as Lily exited the common room with her suitcase.

"So, Ayla, what are you doing tonight?" Albus asked after his sister was gone.

"Liam and I are going to the Three Broomsticks with Bradley and Natasha."

In a bout of jealousy, Albus said something he would soon regret. "Well, maybe you'll see James and me there. Because we've both got dates tonight too."

James shot him a look, eyes wide and mouth open.

"Oh, great!" Ayla exclaimed brightly. "I'd love if you could come with us!"

"Uh, if you'll excuse us, we're going to go get food," James announced, shoving his brother out of the common room. When they reached the hallway, Albus looked guiltily at James.

"Bro, we've gotta find some dates," he said helplessly and James smirked.

"I've got this," James said, brushing past his brother. "Follow me."

They walked down to the Great Hall and stood in the doorway. James stopped a pair of Hufflepuff sisters as they walked out.

"Hi," he said, interrupting their conversation. "Do you lovely ladies want to go out with my brother and me tonight?"

The girls exchanged a giggle and agreed. As they walked away, Albus turned to James, awed.

"How did you do that?" he hissed.

"Years of practice," James said smugly, and they returned to the common room.

X

Ayla waited in the common room with Liam, awaiting Brad and Natasha. Albus and James had agreed to meet them at the Three Broomsticks.

Brad walked out of the dormitory and sat down next to them. "Natasha should be ready in a few minutes," he said, looking at his watch.

Then, the second year girls' dormitory door opened and Bradley hopped up.

"Alright, guys," he said, to his friends, sliding his arm around the girl who approached them. "This is Natasha. Natasha, this is Ayla and Liam."

Ayla looked up to see the girl under Brad's arm and her jaw dropped. Recognition flashed across Natasha's face, but Ayla quickly recomposed herself.

"Hi, Natasha, it's great to meet you," she said stiffly, shaking her hand.

"Yeah, you too, Ayla. Hi, Liam."

They set off for the Three Broomsticks, bundled in their coats. When they reached the restaurant, James shot them a wave and they joined their table. Albus and James were each seated next to a blonde girl.

"This is Clara," James announced.

"And this is Becca," Al told them dully, eyes on Ayla and Liam. Liam's arm was rested on the back of Ayla's chair as she greeted Al and James' dates.

"So, Albus, I've seen you play Quidditch before," Becca said, pulling him from the group conversation. "You're really good."

"Thanks," he replied, uninterested. The girl seemed slightly peeved at his lack of interest as she looked away with her arms crossed.

"Becca, I'm going to go to the bathroom," Clara said, standing up.

"I'll come with you," Becca announced, following her sister.

"We'll be back; we're going to get more drinks," James said, walking toward the bar with his brother.

As they waited for their drinks, Albus gazed back at the table. Ayla, Liam, Brad, and Natasha were engaged in a fit of laughter.

"What are we doing, man?" Albus asked tiredly. "I mean, I'm on a date with a girl I'm not even into just to make Ayla jealous, and I don't even think she noticed."

James shook his head. "We really are idiots, aren't we?"

"I'll say," Albus agreed with a laugh.

"You mind grabbing the drinks?" James asked. "I was going to head back to the table."

"Yeah, go for it," Albus agreed, turning back toward the bar to wait. Ayla walked over to him once James had sat down, glancing nervously back at the table every few seconds.

"Albus?" she said softly and he spun around. "Can we talk?"

"Of course," Al responded, hopping up on a bar stool. Ayla sat down, looking upset.

"It's about Natasha. I…I knew her long before tonight."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember that wizard home I told you about?" Albus nodded. "Well, she was one of my roommates."

Albus's jaw dropped. "Really?" he demanded, glancing over at Natasha.

"She knows. She knows about my father and she…she knows everything."

"Is that bad?"

"I don't know, I just…when I came to Hogwarts, I thought it would be a fresh start, you know? I thought I would finally be somewhere where no one knew me and no one knew what had happened so I could just leave all that behind. But now…" she trailed off, shaking her head. "I don't know; I'm just not too happy about it."

"You don't think she would say anything to anyone, do you?"

"I don't know, Al," she said tiredly. "I really don't know."

Little did they know, Liam's eyes laid on them from across the restaurant, anger edging up on him as he watched the connection Ayla had with Albus.

_She might not know it_, he thought to himself. _But I sure as hell do. _


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks to Aria (guest) for the advice and I think I'll keep the short chapters like you said. I'm always too impatient to take a long time to post chapters anyway, so thanks! And your reviews never fail to make my day; I really appreciate the feedback! :D**

Chapter 16

Ayla folded her arms over her chest to keep herself warm in the chilly common room. Liam was seated next to her on the couch, with Brad and Natasha next to them and Al and James on the recliners across from them. Ayla's head was rested on Liam's shoulder, his arm slung over the back of the couch behind her.

Brad was closing an envelope that contained a letter to his parents. He held it out to Ayla's owl who he was borrowing. It was still two days until Christmas and Bradley was using the owl before Ayla used it to send Lily her present.

"Ugh," Bradley said after the owl had flown away. "Apparently McGonagall told my dad I'm failing a class and now he's on me about my grades." He blew out his breath. "Sometimes I _hate _my parents."

"Ayla should know what that's like," Natasha said coldly, shooting a scowl in Ayla's direction.

Ayla pursed her lips and looked up at the ceiling, forcing herself not to react. Albus, being the only one who understood the comment, shot Natasha a glare.

"So, how _is _Richard?" Natasha asked, smirking.

"Fine," Ayla replied shortly, knowing that her friends had no idea what was happening. "How's Mrs. Ramsey?"

"Good," Natasha replied stiffly.

"Glad to hear it." The girls stared coldly at each other for several moments before Albus changed the subject.

"Who wants to go to dinner?" he offered, standing up. Ayla shot him a look of thanks as they walked down to the Great Hall, where all the candles made it slightly warmer than the common room.

"Wow, it's empty in here," Ayla commented as they sat down. She hadn't realized how many people had left for the holidays until she saw the lack of students at dinner. "I almost wish there were more people. At least there would be more body heat."

"Guess you got used to be warm and comfortable, huh, rich kid?" Natasha sneered.

Ayla's fork clattered to her plate but she still did not say anything back to her. She felt a tap on her foot under the table and looked up to see Albus staring at her. She nodded subtly, knowing what the gesture had meant.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom," she announced, standing up. She exited the Great Hall and waited in the hallway for Albus. He stepped through the doors moments later.

"What is going on with you two?" he demanded when he saw her.

Ayla sighed, sitting down on the steps. Albus sat next to her, waiting patiently.

"You know we went to Sunnydale together and you know that she knows all about my past. Well, things didn't exactly go smoothly with us towards the end of my stay there. For one, a new girl came in and she was going to move into our cell. One of the girls in the cell would have to move to the better part of the home, where you have more room and better food. She used a spell to make the owner, Mrs. Ramsey, like her the best so that she would be the one to move to the better cell. Then, when my father took me out of the home, she got mad because she thought I was getting to go back to a normal life. What she didn't understand was that I was being brought back to an abusive home and that I would way rather stay at Sunnydale. I mean, I hated both places, but if I had to pick…"

"Wait, I thought she knew you were abused," Albus wondered.

"Yeah, she did, I just don't think she considered it when she found out I was leaving. She felt like I was leaving her in that hellhole and that my life was getting better, but that wasn't the case. She still hasn't forgiven me for leaving and honestly, I don't think I've forgiven her for moving to the better ward. The nicer cells weren't for people who were there to be treated badly; it was a whole separate thing for wizards who just needed a place to stay. Once she moved there and got treated better, she never even spoke to me again. But then when I left, suddenly she remembered me all over again and decided to hate me for it," Ayla explained dryly. She sighed, shaking her head. "It's really screwed up, isn't it, Al?"

"Does Liam know?" he asked quietly.

Ayla shook her head. "I don't think I can tell him. I think you're the only person I'm ever going to want to tell." She shook her head again and stood up. "I'm going to go back in. Thanks for talking to me about it."  
"Anytime," Albus said quietly as Ayla walked back into the Great Hall.

_They've got it tough_, he thought. _I guess this is the first of many wars._

X

Ayla awoke on Christmas morning by the light streaming in the window. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and looked out the window to see a blanket of snow covering the Hogwarts grounds. She smiled at the one day of year that she didn't mind seeing snow. She pulled boots on over her Christmas pajamas and entered the common room. She charmed the pile of presents for her friends to follow her into the common room, where Liam, Albus, James, and Hugo were sitting. She sat down next to Liam and leaned into him as he draped his arm around her.

"Nice," Albus commented when he saw the stack of presents magically moving themselves.

"Hey, they're heavy!" she protested, grinning, and he laughed.

Once Brad had flopped down next to Liam and complained that Natasha was visiting her grandmother for the day, they began exchanging gifts.

Ayla handed her gifts to Albus and James first.

"You should open them at the same time," she advised and they both began to tear at the wrapping paper.

"Oh, my God!" Albus cried as he caught sight of what was beneath the paper. "This is amazing; it will _definitely _go to good use!"

"I'm glad," Ayla laughed.

"This is perfect, Ayla, thanks," James said with a smile.

Albus stood to hug her in thanks, and James followed while Liam looked away irritably.

"Your turn," Albus said, handing her a parcel. Ayla opened it and her face burst into a smile when she saw what was in the box.

"Oh, my God, how did you know?" she demanded happily. Liam shifted to see what was in the package. It was a pair of grips for Quidditch.

"Look at your hands, Ayla, you have _scars _from all the skin tears you get gripping a broom with bare hands."

Ayla laughed. "Thanks so much, Al." she gave him a quick hug and sat back down with Liam, fiddling with the strap on the grips.

After half an hour, they were almost done with their gift exchanging. Bradley had gotten his watch from Ayla, a tie from Liam that apparently traced back to some kind of inside joke between them, a Gryffindor pin from Albus, a flag of his favorite Quidditch team from James, a hat that had been sent from Lily, and an eye patch from Hugo, who was still making fun of Brad for the incident with the bird on the first day of potions. Ayla had gotten the grips from Albus, a plastic sneakoscope from James, a makeup case that Lily had sent her, and a pair of headphones from Hugo. Liam had gotten a tie from Bradley as well, making everyone wonder where this joke had come from, a Weasley's Wizard Wheezes gift card from James, extendable ears from Albus, a sugar quill from Hugo, and a framed moving picture of Ayla and Liam from Lily.

"Aw!" Ayla exclaimed when she saw this gift. She looked over Liam's shoulder, watching the photo of them as it moved. "I think Lily is our biggest fan," she said with a laugh.

"Me too," Liam laughed. "_Our_," he repeated in a whisper, smiling softly.

Hugo had gotten candy from _everyone _in the group, in addition to a few small things, due to his usual diet that consisted almost entirely of sweets. In addition to his present from Ayla, Albus had gotten a bunch of prank stuff from James, candy from Lily, a t-shirt from Hugo, sunglasses from Brad, and broom polisher from Liam. James had gotten nearly the same; except he had gotten a hoodie from Brad instead.

"Hey, are you guys coming to the Quidditch game next week against Slytherin? New Year's Eve is the biggest rivalry game of the year. We play in the morning and then we've got a win and the new year to celebrate," Albus was reminded when he saw the broom polisher. "At least we better," he added.

"I'm in," Ayla announced, and the rest of the group agreed.

The last presents to give in the group were exchanged between Ayla and Liam. Ayla beamed as Liam opened the box from her. His jaw dropped when he saw the Victor Krum jersey and signed Victor Krum poster.

"Oh, my god, Ayla, this is perfect!" he hugged her tightly. "I love it!"

He handed her a red box and she pulled off the white bow. "Liam, this is amazing," she breathed, holding up a sparkly charm in the shape of a wand.

He grabbed her hand and lifted her wrist, and she held it up while he attached the charm to it.

"I love it, Liam, thank you so much!" she gave him a long, tight hug, the smile refusing to fade from her face.

As the day went on, the other Weasleys filed in and out to hand each other presents. Everyone except Ayla had presents sent from home, but she pretended not to notice.

She admired the beautiful addition to her bracelet, feeling so happy in Liam's arms.

X

On New Year's Eve, at eight o'clock in the morning, Ayla, Liam, Hugo, and Brad sat in the front row of the Gryffindor section at the Quidditch match, while James and Al were in the locker room preparing for the game.

Liam's arms were around Ayla to keep her warm on the snowy morning. She rested her head against his chest, blinking snow out of her eyelashes. McGonagall stepped onto the field.

"It is an honor to continue this tradition of the New Year's Slytherin-Gryffindor Quidditch match, and we hope to continue this tradition for many more years. Please welcome the Gryffindor and Slytherin players onto the field."

Ayla watched as the players burst through the curtains alongside the field and marched to the center where McGonagall stood, staring challengingly at their opponents. McGonagall returned to the stands and the Flying Coach entered the field.

"Let the game begin!" she announced, throwing the Quaffle into the air and releasing the bludgers and the snitch as the players took off on their brooms. Ayla spotted Al and James as they skimmed the field.

Through a blur of red and green, Gryffindor scored first.

"Yes!" Ayla cheered, hugging Liam in glee.

Following that, Gryffindor scored another two teams, but the Gryffindor stands calmed down after a few moments once Slytherin started on their own scoring streak.

Ayla sat down glumly, looking at the scoreboard, which read 30-70 with Slytherin in the lead. Liam sat next to her, followed by Hugo and Bradley, followed by the rest of the Gryffindors in the audience. The Slytherins tauntingly waved their flags and banners, cheering for their team and booing the Gryffindors.

Suddenly, the Slytherin seeker lurched forward and began speeding around the field. A series of groans came from the Gryffindor section, knowing he had caught sight of the snitch. Albus halted and threw his head back helplessly. He looked down at the crowd.

Ayla gazed up at him, and even from the great distance, she could tell that they made eye contact. She shot him an encouraging smile, unsure of whether or not he could even see her. Before Ayla knew what was happening, Al's broom was zooming forward, his arm launching out to whack away a bludgers with his bat. The bludgers flew directly towards the Slytherin seeker, who dodged it frantically, losing sight of the tiny gold snitch. And with that, the entire Gryffindor crowd rose to its feet, cheering. Because the Gryffindor seeker's hand was outstretched, just centimeters away from the golden snitch. They watched, gritting their teeth in anxiety as his hand clamped down and his fist shot in the air.

"Yes!" Ayla screamed, throwing her arms around Liam. The crowd went wild as the scoreboard showed 180-70 with Gryffindor taking the win. Brad jumped on Liam's back and reached over his shoulder to put Hugo in a headlock, cheering with excitement. He hopped off of Liam and gave Ayla a high-five. The Gryffindor students flooded onto the field, most of them surrounding the seeker. James was approached by several fifth-year girls, and Ayla glanced over to see him flipping his hair and trying to look cool as they talked to him. She laughed as they approached Albus.

"Hey, Al, great game!" she exclaimed, giving him a congratulatory hug.

"Thanks, Ayla!" he said, beaming.

Brad escaped to go find his girlfriend who had not come to the game, and Hugo went to talk to his cousin Dominique.

"You guys are sticking around for the party, right?" Albus asked hopefully.

"Of course we are!"

"Alright, see you in the common room," he said, grinning. "I think the team has to make some kind of dramatic entrance, so I'll see you in there."

"See you there," Ayla said with a smile. She and Liam entered the castle and walked up to the common room, where there was already a sea of people waiting for the team. They joined the crowd, feeling the holiday spirit and excitement flooding through them.

The door was thrown open and the team burst in, high-fiving the screaming students on their way in. The Seeker was in the front, followed by the keeper, then the chasers, followed by the beaters, James and Albus. They were all clutching the medals around their necks and holding up the large gold trophies they had won. Albus stopped in front of Ayla and Liam, beaming and gripping his trophy.

"Nice game, man," Liam congratulated him and Al smiled tightly.

"Thanks, Liam."

After a few minutes, Bradley ran over to them and nearly dragged Liam out of the conversation, pulling him away.

"That was strange," Ayla commented, laughing. She turned back to Albus. "You were really amazing, Albus."

"Thanks, Ayla. That means a lot coming from the Quidditch master."

She looked down, her smile fading. Al apologized and Ayla smiled dismissively.

"My bad, Ayla, I forgot you don't like to talk about it."

"Don't worry about it, really."

"What exactly is it that upsets you about Quidditch?"

Ayla sighed, looking around, and glanced toward the door. Albus nodded and they stepped into the hallway.

"I told you about what my father did when he saw me playing, right?"

Albus nodded. "I get that it upsets you, Ayla, but you're so incredible at it. What if…maybe you could just…not let it stand in your way."

"I don't think I can do that, Al."

"You'll never know if you don't at least try. I mean, when you were playing with me, you were amazing and you didn't seem upset or anything."

She sighed miserably, sitting on the ground. Al seated himself next to her, elbows resting on his knees.

"Just…if I play, I remember all those times at Sunnydale and I just..._panic. _It's like this rush of hysteria comes over me when I just think about it. It's where I learned to play and it's always going to be with me."

"I thought you told me you played with your cousins when you were little. Did it bother you then?"

Ayla laughed once. "Yeah, that's true…there were these seven kids—all siblings—who went to Sunnydale at the same time as me. They were half-blood and their Dad was a muggle. Their parents got divorced and he married my mom's sister, who's also a Muggle, obviously. So they became my cousins a few years after I left Sunnydale. When we were there together, we had no idea we were going to become cousins, but it was some crazy small-world coincidence and we ended up as cousins that aren't actually related. And _that _is how a muggle-born kid has wizard cousins."

Albus laughed. "That's crazy," he said. "But don't you have _some _good memories from playing?"

"Yeah," she admitted. "But none of them are worth what happened to me the night that my father found out."

"But some day, when your name is in the Quidditch Hall of Fame, it would be worth it, wouldn't it?"

Ayla laughed. "Alright, whatever you say, Albus," she said, standing up.

"I mean it, Ayla," he said sincerely. "You could make it that far."

"No, I couldn't! I just…I wish I could, but…I can't get there from the way I grew up. It just won't happen. But you…" she grinned. "_You _could get in the Quidditch Hall of Fame."

"Look who's dreaming now," Albus said softly as they re-entered the party.

X

Later that night, after the party shifted from a game-winning celebration to a New Year's countdown, Ayla stood on top of the astronomy tower with Liam, James, Albus, Brad, Natasha, and Hugo. James and Albus were getting ready to set off muggle fireworks, with much excitement ("It's like magic…but not!" they had exclaimed).

All the way from the tower, they could hear the students chanting as the countdown began.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three—" Albus and James set off the fireworks—"two, one!"

The thundering applause boomed throughout the castle. Ayla beamed and hugged her friends as they stood under the amazing fireworks.

As streamers dropped and party horns blared, Liam pressed his lips to Ayla's and kissed her. Unable to keep from smiling hugely, Ayla hugged him tightly once they had pulled back. He kissed the top of her head as they gazed up at the colorful fireworks. She turned to look at him, grinning in excitement.

"Happy New Year, Ayla," he said, and kissed her again.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Ayla, Liam, Albus, James, Hugo, Brad, and Natasha stood at the train station waiting for Lily. According to the letter she had written them, her parents were apparating with her to the train station and she would be going through the barrier to get to platform 9 ¾ at ten-thirty.

They waited on the platform, which was charmed to be a comfortable room temperature rather than the freezing temperatures outside; just another reason to love magic.

Lily appeared from the brick barrier and Ayla squealed.

"Lily!" she cried, hugging her best friend. "How was your break?"

"It was great!" Lily exclaimed happily.

"Thank you _so _much for the makeup case; I _love _it," Ayla enthused and Lily beamed.

"No problem, I'm so glad you liked it. And thanks for the bag; it'll definitely help when I'm going from class to class."

"Anytime," Ayla said sweetly.

"Lily, this is Natasha," Brad said, stepping over, his hand in Natasha's.

Ayla put her hand bracingly on Lily's arm as her heart sank. "Hi, nice to meet you," Lily said bravely, disguising her heartbreak.

Natasha didn't reply; just turned to the doors of the train.

Ayla gave Lily a _don't-let-her-get-to-you_ look as they boarded the Hogwarts express that was ready to pick up all of the students who were heading back to school. It was mid-morning, and the students had the rest of that day and the next before classes officially started again.

They found a compartment and Liam sat by the window with Ayla to his left, then Albus, then James. Across from Liam was Brad, across from Ayla was Natasha, then Lily and Hugo. Ayla curled her legs up to her chest and leaned on Liam's shoulder.

"Aw, you guys are so cute together!" Lily squealed.

"Yeah, never heard that before, have you?" Natasha said rudely and Ayla's eyes hardened but she still refused to respond. Natasha smirked and looked out the window.

"Hey, do you guys want to double again tonight at the Three Broomsticks?" Bradley offered. "Since tomorrow's the last day of break and all that."

"Sure," Liam agreed and Ayla smiled reluctantly, not wanting to spend any more time with Natasha.

"Sounds good," she agreed quietly. She pulled out her muggle phone to see if she had gotten any callbacks from the _Happy New Year _and _Merry Christmas _phone calls she had sent home. She sighed when she saw no new calls or messages. She shoved her phone in her back pocket and gazed out the window.

"Whoa, that's so cool!" Albus exclaimed, something he did every time he saw her phone. She sighed and laughed, pulling her phone back out and handing it to him. He struggled to unlock the screen and asked her countless questions of _what does this do? _as he pointed to several different buttons. When they finally reached the castle, Ayla walked in between Liam and Lily as they disembarked the train.

Natasha stopped Albus as he got off the train, while Brad was engaged in conversation with Hugo and James several feet ahead.

"Look, Albus, you better stop playing for Ayla. No matter how many flowers and love songs you give her, she's never gonna come around because she doesn't know how to love someone. And let me tell you from personal experience, she'll turn on you the second she gets a chance."

"You don't know her at all," Albus growled and Natasha laughed.

"I guess she didn't tell you the real story of what happened all those years ago. Ask her again."

Albus looked at her, puzzled.

"Just watch your back. You're never gonna earn the love of _the amazing Ayla_."

Albus glared at her and then brushed past her, bumping her shoulder on the way just for good measure.

X

Albus approached Ayla in the common room, where she was perched on Liam's lap on the couch.

"Hey, Ayla, can we talk in the hall?"

"Sure!" she said, hopping up. "Be right back," she told Liam, kissing his cheek.

She followed Albus into the hallway through the portrait hole.

"So, Natasha talked to me when we were getting off the train," he began, and Ayla's eyes widened. "Most of what she said isn't important, but…After I told her she doesn't know you at all, she said 'I guess she didn't tell you the real story of what happened all those years ago' and then she told me to ask you again. What does that even mean?"

"You _believed _her?" Ayla demanded, then exhaled deeply. "Alright, I guess I didn't emphasize our friendship as much as I should have."

"You were friends with that freak?"

She sighed. "I know she's mean, believe me, but when we were kids, she wasn't. She used to be my best friend, and we did everything together. I was really young when I was at Sunnydale, but we used to steal some of the wizard books they had there and study spells. We couldn't perform them yet but we could learn all about them. That's how I knew as many spells as I did when I didn't grow up in a wizard home. One night, we were hanging out and I did a spell for the first time in front of her and she took that like I was moving on to bigger and better things or something like that. Again, we were kids, we were stupid. So when she had the opportunity to move to a better cell, she put a spell on Mrs. Ramsey and decided to treat me the way she had felt when I started using wizardry. I would be willing to let this stuff go if she was, but she still thinks I stabbed her in the back somehow when I left Sunnydale."

"So what did she mean when she said that to me?" Albus asked. "She sounded like she was saying she knew you better than anyone."

"Well, she did," Ayla admitted. "I told her things that I had never told anyone; things that I still haven't told anyone but her. I thought I could trust her, but…" she sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"There's something else, isn't there?" Albus asked knowingly. "There's something you haven't told me."

Ayla nodded, looking worried. She took a deep breath and Albus waited patiently. "You know how I told you my father showed up one day and saw me playing Quidditch?" Albus nodded. "Well, he used to show up on a lot of nights to beat me up, but that night…Natasha was still angry about everything that had happened between us, so she…she called him. And she told him that I was playing Quidditch and that's why he came that night. That night was the worst night of my life because he had a _reason _to be angry instead of how he usually was—just angry in general. It was so much worse that night than it ever had been before, and I just…" she shook her head. "Natasha told him what was going on," she repeated. "She told him I was playing Quidditch and told him that I was becoming _consumed _with wizardry and that he needed to bring me back to the house. All of that just to get back at me."

Albus's fist clenched. "I swear, I'm gonna—"

"No, Al, you can't!" she jumped in front of him, grabbing his arm until he dropped it to his side with a deep breath. "That won't help anything; he's already in jail. It's done, Al, it's over."

Albus blinked tears from his eyes. "What kind of sick person…"

Ayla shook her head. "I don't know. I've wondered that all my life, but I got tired of wondering and asking myself so many questions so I just accepted it. What happened is what happened; it's done." She used Albus's silence as an opportunity to bring up something else. "Thank you, Al. For letting me talk to you about everything. I really needed to just tell _someone _about everything, and that can't be Liam. I just…I can't tell him. I'm too scared of what his reaction would be; I'm too scared that he'll run screaming." She took a shaky breath, looking up at the ceiling. "I think he's beginning to realize something is going on, though. I just have a feeling he's going to start trying to get it out of me and I just…I don't know, Al. I don't think I can tell him."

"You don't have to," he assured her encouragingly. "Really, you don't have to tell anyone _anything _if you're not ready. Don't let anyone drag anything out of you that you're not ready to talk about."

"It's almost like…I want to tell him; I want to be with someone that I can just tell _everything _to, but I don't want to take the risk of him running."

"You really like him, don't you?" Albus asked gently, trying not to let the pain in his chest show through.

She nodded, smiling softly. "Yeah, Albus, I really do. I mean, I'm only a first year and I wouldn't think I would even know how to feel like this, especially with how I grew up, but…I don't know, there's just something about him."

Albus dug his teeth into the inside of his lip, clenching his left fist, trying desperately to stay calm. "H-he really likes you too, Ayla, I can see it," he said strongly, his voice trembling ever so slightly.

"Thanks, Al," she said quietly. "I should go back to…"

"To Liam," he finished, nodding. "I'll see you later."

She smiled at him and stood up, walking back into the common room, leaving him sitting alone on the cool marble floor.

X

Ayla held Liam's hand as they walked into the Three Broomsticks with Brad and Natasha. She smiled at Madam Rosmerta as she seated them at their table.

"I'm starving," Liam announced. "That lunch we got at the train station was nasty."

"Yeah, it tasted like cardboard," Ayla agreed.

"I guess you've gotten used to filet mignon and lobster, princess," Natasha shot at Ayla. "But _some_ of us had to eat bad food until we turned eleven."

Ayla grit her teeth and looked away. Liam looked confused and Brad was gazing at his girlfriend, completely unaware of what was going on.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Brad announced, kissing Natasha before he left. Ayla waited until he was gone before turning back to Natasha.

"Look, Natasha, I have had it up to _here_ with you and your snide little comments!" she hissed.

"Well, I have had it up to here with your entire perfect life being thrown in my face like you're better than me!" Natasha returned in a yell.

"I'm not throwing anything in your face; you're the one who keeps comparing yourself to me! I was willing to put our history behind us, but then you come along and just keep bringing it up over and over again like you just _want _to fight about something! I've had it, Natasha, and I am so done with fighting with you!"

Natasha didn't reply because Bradley was back, sitting down in the chair beside her. Ayla shot Natasha a warning glare but didn't continue in front of Bradley.

Liam was staring between the two girls, wanting to know their history. Ayla carefully averted her vision as if she didn't notice his curious gaze.

Madam Rosmerta approached their table to take their order. Ayla ordered a pasta dish, Liam and Brad both order steak, and Natasha ordered chicken. When she walked way, Natasha suddenly turned toward everyone like she had an idea.

"You know what we should do?" she began, leaning forward excitedly. "I heard there's this really good bakery in a muggle town near here. We could go there for dessert."

"Yeah, definitely!" Brad agreed. "Where is it?"

"Cambridgeshire," Natasha said wickedly, locking her stare on Ayla. Ayla's eyes narrowed and her fist clenched.

"That's kind of far away, Natasha," Ayla said calmly.

"Oh, have you been?" Natasha asked in a falsely kind voice. "Great, if Ayla's been there, then she can show us the way. Thanks, Ayla!"

Ayla grit her teeth so tightly her jaw got sore, glaring at Natasha so angrily that she was even scaring herself.

"Oh, that's right; of course you've been there!" Natasha exclaimed as if she'd just made the connection. "Your father lives there, doesn't he?"

Ayla chose not to answer for fear that she might unleash all of her pent-up anger if she opened her mouth.

"What, am I wrong?" Natasha persisted. "Did he, you know, _move out_?"

"No," Ayla replied shortly, forcing herself to stay calm. "No, he did not move out."

"Well, good, maybe we can visit him! It's been _forever_, you know."

"Yeah," Ayla replied. "Since that day you two spoke on the phone."

Natasha's eyes narrowed slightly at Ayla's first real response to her comments. "It's a shame I never got to say goodbye before he left for—"

"Don't say it," Ayla growled.

"What is going on?" Liam demanded suddenly.

"Nothing," both girls said at once. Liam looked slightly angry to be out of the loop, but decided not to press for further information.

"I'm going back to the castle," Ayla announced. "You two can go to Cambridgeshire if that's what you want to do. But I'm going home."

She stood up and left the table. Liam, looking puzzled, chased after her. He stopped her just outside the restaurant and she folded her arms against the cold.

"Ayla, what happened?"

"Nothing," she said quietly, looking away. "I just don't want to go to Cambridgeshire."

"Is that where you grew up? Why does your father live there?"

"Fine, Liam, you really want to know?" she demanded and he nodded. "He's in a rehab center there," she told him, which was somewhat true. _A prison is kind of like a rehab center, right_? she thought.

"Wait, like, physical rehab or, like…_drug _rehab?"

She forced a laugh. "Oh, no, he'd never be in drug rehab!" she exclaimed, laughing. _That's not exactly a lie, is it? _she thought to herself. _I mean, he never would go to rehab even if we forced him to. _

"So why don't you want to see him?" Liam asked.

Ayla shrugged. "We're not that close," she replied simply. "Look, Liam, I want to go home. You can come if you want or you can stay; I don't care."

"I—I'll come," he said quietly, taking her hand and walking back to the castle with her, their feet crunching on the icy grass.

_I really wish I could tell him_, Ayla thought. _I really want to be with someone I can tell. I'm sorry, Liam. I'm sorry I lied. _


	18. Chapter 18

**This chapter is pretty short, and I'm sorry if the format is different; I did this on an iPad instead of my laptop. I hope you like it and please review! **

Chapter 18

About halfway back to the castle, Liam suddenly let go of Ayla's hand after a long silence.

"What's wrong?" She asked, concerned.

"I don't want to go back to the castle," he said bluntly.

"Okay...you don't have to," she told him, confused. "I told you that you didn't have to come with me."

"I just don't think you should run back to your bedroom like a little kid just because of some old fight with Natasha."

Ayla stepped back, stunned and hurt. "That's what you think this is?" She demanded. "Liam, Natasha and I..." She trailed off and Liam shook his head angrily.

"See, Ayla, it's that, right there. That is what drives me crazy. It's like you don't tell me anything ever. All you ever do is hide stuff from me and I just want to know what's going on! If you don't trust me, you can just tell me now instead of hiding stuff from me day after day like I'm going to betray you or something!"

"Liam, please..." She begged. "There are things I just...I just can't tell you, okay?"

"No!" He cried. "No, I can't just continue to put up with your little secrets and pretend like it's nothing!"

"Liam, I'm sorry, I-"

"I just need some time to think, Ayla!" He bellowed, stepping away from her. "I'm going back to Hogsmeade; I'll see you tomorrow. Now can I have my jacket?"

Stunned, Ayla slipped out of the jacket he had given her before they left for dinner and held it out to him.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away, leaving Ayla teary-eyed and shivering in the cold.

X

Ayla was shivering violently as she neared the castle, breaking into a run to get out of the freezing cold. She had been wearing short sleeves under Liam's jacket since she had not intended to take it off outside.

"Hey, Ayla!" She heard and turned to see Albus walking on the castle grounds.

"Hey," she said quietly, trying to hide her tears.

"What's wrong?" He demanded, worried, when he saw her tear-stained face. He pulled her into a tight, comforting hug, smoothing her hair. "What happened, Ayla?"

"Liam and I had a fight because he knows I'm not telling him everything about my past."

"What?" Albus asked, pulling back but keeping his hands on her arms. "What does he know?"

"Nothing," Ayla admitted. "He can just tell that I'm hiding something and the truth is I'm hiding a lot of things from him but I just don't want to tell him yet! But he's going to break up with me if I don't tell him!"

Before Albus could comfort her or give her advice, he noticed her trembling shoulders and clattering teeth. "Here," he said softly, pulling off his jacket and holding it as she slid her arms into it.

"Thank you," she said gratefully, her voice sounding broken and miserable.

"Hey, come on inside. We'll sit in front of the fire and get some hot cocoa." He put his arm on her shoulders and guided her toward the castle.

"I've never been on this part of the ground before," she told him. "I just panicked and started walking and didn't realize where I was going. Do you know where we are or are we lost?"

"Ehh," Albus said carelessly in a successful effort to make her smile. "Yeah, I know where we are," he admitted. They walked around for a few moments before they reached a back door of the castle. Albus held the door open for her and she walked in, his hand on her back as they walked up to the common room. Ayla curled up in front of the fireplace with Albus. He ordered Kreacher to bring them some hot chocolate and he immediately obeyed. Ayla thanked him and took a sip of her cocoa, shivering as the hot liquid passed through her throat.

"Thanks, Al," she said quietly.

"Anytime," he promised sincerely. "So what exactly happened?"

"Natasha got me really upset by suggesting that we walk to Cambridgeshire and then making a bunch of comments about my father and why he's there, so I wanted to come home. Liam started walking with me at first and then he got really mad at me for dragging him away from his friends so we got in a whole fight and one thing led to another and he ended up being mad about the fact that I'm keeping secrets from him." She closed her eyes for a moment, letting out a deep breath. "I just can't tell him, Albus. I mean, it's not that I don't want to; it's just that I'm too scared of what will happen if I do tell him. I can't take the risk of him getting freaked out."

"If he really cares about you, he won't let that or anything else change anything between you two. He should accept you regardless and if he doesn't, then...then he's not good enough for you."

Ayla smiled softly. "Thanks, Albus. Really, thank you for being here to listen and for giving me the perfect advice all the time and putting up with me these past few months." She fell silent while Albus blinked away the tears forming in his eyes that went unnoticed to Ayla. "I'm really tired; I'm going to bed."

To his surprise, Ayla leaned over and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you," she said as she wrapped her arms around him. "For getting me home tonight. And everything else," she added as she pulled back. "Good night, Albus."

"Good night, Ayla," he said quietly as she closed her dormitory door.

X

Liam burst into the common room several hours later, when Albus was the only one left in the room, sitting on an armchair with an open muggle studies book on his knees.

"Al, have you seen Ayla?" He demanded.

"Why?" Albus asked, twisting around in his chair. Liam ran a hand over his head anxiously.

"I made a huge mistake, man, I need to see her. Is she here? Did she get back? God, I never should have left her there to walk back all alone."

"No, you shouldn't have," Albus said quietly, closing the book and standing up. "Don't worry man, I got her home alright." His heart ached to see the boy Ayla was in love with when it was him who deserved her, not Liam. _That's the way life is sometimes, Albus_, he told himself, but the pain in his chest clearly didn't agree.

Liam looked relieved and Albus brushed past him to go to his dormitory.

"By the way," he said, turning around. "You should stop pressing her for information. If you were in her shoes, you wouldn't want to share it all either. Believe me." With that, Albus closed his door behind him to leave Liam in confusion in the common room alone.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Ayla nervously stepped out of her dormitory the next morning, worried about what her next conversation with Liam would be like. It was the last day of break and she had stayed in bed as late as possible before finally getting up and accepting the fact that she would have to face Liam sooner or later. He sprung up from his chair when he saw her and threw his arms around her.

"Baby, I'm so sorry!" he cried as he hugged her tightly. He didn't let go for several moments before he slowly pulled back and held both of her hands. "I'm so sorry, Ayla, I never should have said any of that and I never should have left you alone outside. If something had happened to you…" He shook his head and hugged her again. "I'm really sorry. I'm so glad you got back okay."

"Yeah, Albus walked me home. It's a good thing too, because I got kind of lost."

He shook his head, his face ashen. "I should have stayed with you Ayla, and I said some things to you that were—"

"Liam, it's fine," she cut him off quietly.

"Yeah, it's not like that's the first time she's been left out in the cold," Natasha said, appearing out of nowhere, with mock sympathy for Ayla.

"Where do you come from all the time?" Ayla demanded. "Get lost, Tasha."

Natasha flinched slightly at the nickname and Ayla heard it a second after she said it.

"Sure thing, Ay-Hay," Natasha replied coldly, turning on her heel and stalking away.

"_Ay-Hay_?" Liam repeated.

"Back when I had my father's last name, my childhood friends used to call me that sometimes. We all had nicknames for each other."

Liam raised his eyebrows and Ayla knew she'd said too much.

"Look, I know you figured out we were friends as kids so don't act so surprised," she begged and a smile tugged at the corner of Liam's mouth.

"Yeah, I'm a genius," he admitted jokingly and Ayla couldn't help but laugh. Liam kissed her and any resentment she had towards him from the previous night melted away.

X

Ayla sat on the couch between Albus and James, with Lily across from them in one of the armchairs.

Ayla pulled one knee up to her chest and leaned her head against it tiredly.

"I can't believe classes start again tomorrow," she said. "It went by so quickly."

"Yeah, the year's nearly half over at this point. Three more weeks of this semester and then we'll be switching classes for the second half of the year," Albus agreed.

James turned and gazed at Ayla. "It's been a good year so far," he said quietly and her face lit up in agreement.

"Best year of my life," Ayla said softly.

"So, where's Liam?" Lily asked, changing the subject.

"He and Brad went to grab some food," Ayla replied and Lily looked surprised.

"Brad is out with Liam instead of Natasha? Geez, I thought those two were attached at the hip."

Ayla, James, and Albus laughed at that.

"That girl is _evil_, isn't she?" Albus asked and the group agreed.

"She reminds me of, like, a cheetah ready to rip someone's face off," James said elaborately. "She always looks like she's ready to attack."

"Yeah, well, she is," Ayla laughed, leaning back and accidentally bumping James' arm, which was rested on the back of the couch behind her. "Oh, sorry," she said, sitting back up.

"Perfectly fine," James murmured, missing the brief contact.

Albus glanced jealously at James' arm, then peered over Ayla's lap subtly to see that he was sitting slightly closer to Ayla than James was, and a small smirk spread across his lips. Albus crossed his left leg across his lap and his knee brushed Ayla's but she didn't seem to notice. He looked down, slightly disappointed that he hadn't gotten any sort of reaction out of her.

The door to the common room opened, and Liam and Brad walked in, laughing loudly about something.

Brad waved to everyone as he headed to knock on Natasha's door and Liam walked over to Ayla. He leaned down to kiss her, while Albus and James both looked away.

Liam pulled back and outstretched his hand. Ayla took it and stood up, wrapping her arm around his waist as he draped his arm over her shoulders.

"You want to go for a walk?" Liam asked her and she nodded.

"I'll see you guys at dinner tonight," she said to the three Potters, and headed out of the common room with her hand in Liam's.

When the door closed behind them, Lily turned to her brothers.

"Subtle, guys," she mocked.

"About what?" Albus asked slyly, shifting uncomfortably.

"Really, Al, you think I don't know?" Lily demanded. "You two are obviously obsessed with her; why don't you just talk to her?"

"I _do _talk to her!" Albus protested.

"Yeah, so do I!" James put in. "But there's a big difference between talking to her and having a relationship with her."

Albus gestured towards his brother in agreement.

"Maybe it's not the type of relationship you want, but it's a start. Her relationship won't last forever, and the closer you get with her now, the more likely she'll be to turn to you if and when her relationship does end."

Albus and James both scoffed.

"I don't think Ayla thinks that way," Albus said simply. "I wish it was that easy."

Lily laughed loudly. "I'm giving Ayla's _own _advice to you, so I'm pretty sure she _does _think that way."

"Ayla told you to tell us to get close to her?" James asked stupidly and Lily rolled her eyes.

"No, you idiot, she told _me _to do that with B—someone else…"

"Who is it?" Albus growled, his fist clenching in protection for his little sister.

"Calm down, Al, it's nothing," Lily said mildly.

"Wait, so he has a girlfriend but you like him?" Albus demanded, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

"Yeah, but it's no big deal," Lily promised, but she couldn't hide the sadness in her voice.

"If someone's breaking my little sister's heart, I want to know about it."

Lily inhaled deeply as she prepared to confess.

"Oh, no," James said, standing up. "Are you gonna get all emotional on us?"

Lily looked at her eldest brother, biting her lip. He took this as a yes and nodded awkwardly.

"See you two at dinner," he said, and left the common room. Lily moved to sit next to Albus on the couch.

"So who is it?" Albus asked.

"Albus, if I tell you, you're going to want to get all protective-big-brother and go after him, but you _can't_, okay? You can't tell him."

"Alright, deal," Albus promised.

Lily took a deep breath. "It's Bradley," she admitted and Albus recoiled in shock.

Albus smiled sadly. "You should have seen how sad your face looked when you said that," he said softly. "Look, don't worry, nobody likes Natasha. Soon enough, Brad's gonna realize that he doesn't either."

Lily was silent and Albus looked at her curiously. "He's been in there this whole time," she pointed out in a barely audible voice, pointing toward Natasha's door.

"Yeah, they need to put it back the way it was when Dad went here. The guys couldn't go in the girls' dormitories but they changed that a few years ago. They should really put that security back in place. Especially in_ your_ dormitory," he joked, mussing her red hair.

"Thanks, Al," she said sincerely.

"Anytime, sis."

X

Ayla rested her hands on Liam's shoulders and his hands were on her waist as they kissed in the third-floor east corridor. Ayla pulled back eventually, smiling up at Liam. He smiled back, his face slightly flushed.

Ayla dropped her hands from his shoulders and intertwined them with his, looking up at his brown eyes.

"I'm really happy, Ayla," he said quietly and she beamed.

"Me too, Liam, I really am. I haven't been this happy in years. Or maybe ever," she admitted, and he kissed her again, then pulled her into a tight hug.

"I love you, Ayla," Liam said almost silently and she pulled back from the hug, gazing up at him in shock.

"Really?" she whispered and he nodded.

"Really, baby, I love you so much."

Her eyes filled with tears but she smiled hugely. "I love you, too, Liam," she said sincerely, and he pressed his lips to hers once more.

X

Later that night in the common room, Ayla, Liam, and Hugo sat in the common room. Ayla and Liam were sharing a chair and Hugo was on the chair next to them.

Hugo had a Defense Against the Dark Arts book on his lap and was trying to finish an essay that everyone but he and Bradley had finished before break started.

"Ayla, I can't figure this out," he complained.

"Hugo, this is easy," she said, untangling herself from Liam's arms and walking over to Hugo's chair. "It's an opinion paper; you can say whatever you want."

"I don't know what to do, though!"

"You choose what you think is the most useful defense spell and explain its uses and why you think it's the greatest defense spell," Ayla explained, climbing back into the chair and settling into Liam's warm arms. She twisted around and kissed him once, which turned into several minutes of kissing.

James walked out of his dormitory and flopped onto the couch. "Ugh, can you two get a room?" he grumbled, kicking his feet up onto the table. Ayla pulled back and rested in Liam's arms.

"Sorry, James," she said with a smile and he cracked a reluctant grin.

A few moments later, Albus slumped down next to his brother in the same seating position.

"Hey," he said, his eyes resting on Ayla and Liam.

"Hey, Al!" Ayla said brightly, grinning at him.

He shot her a smile before looking around the common room.

"Where's Lily?" he asked.

"She went to bed," Ayla replied and Albus nodded.

"What about Brad?" he asked and everyone laughed once.

"Where do you think?" Ayla said sarcastically, gesturing to the second year girls' dormitory and Albus chuckled.

"I think I'm going to bed, too," Ayla said tiredly. She turned around to face Liam and kissed him.

"Goodnight, baby," he said, kissing her.

"Goodnight…" she said again, giving him another long kiss.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he told her, kissing her again.

"Mm-hmm," she agreed, continuing to kiss him while the rest of the group waited awkwardly.

"Goodnight," James interrupted and Ayla turned, laughing in embarrassment.

"Goodnight, everyone," she said, sliding off of Liam's lap and heading toward her dormitory. Albus stuck his foot in an attempt to trip her and she shoved his shoulder playfully before walking into her room and shutting the door behind her.

Everyone turned to Liam once the door had been shut and he blushed.

"What can I say, I love her," he admitted. James stared dully ahead and Albus blinked rapidly to muffle the surge of emotion that flooded over him. His fist clenched and he gritted his teeth, praying that someday he would be the one saying that to his friends.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Ayla frantically flipped through the pages of her Potions textbook, her notebook pages spread out on the table in the library.

"Ayla, calm down, you'll do fine," Albus assured her, putting his hand down on the book to stop her from turning the page.

Ayla, Liam, Albus, Lily, Hugo, James, Brad, and Natasha were studying in the library for their finals the next week. After finals, they would switch to a whole new set of classes for the second semester.

"I can not _wait _until next term," Albus announced, flipping open a textbook. "No more muggle studies."

"Ayla, the potions exam will be super easy for you," James promised and she smiled in relief. "It's the Dark Arts exam that you should be freaking out about."

Her smile faded. "Geez, thanks James."

He laughed. "You know what I mean. You'll do fine on all of them."

A crude laugh came from Natasha. "And if you don't, you can just call your rich mother to bribe the teachers," she said rudely.

"Oh, you know what else I could do? I could put a spell on them to get me to pass; I guess I can just stop studying now, right?" Ayla replied and Albus hid a smile.

Natasha's eyes narrowed. "Thanks for the advice; maybe I'll try that," she said coldly.

"You should," Ayla suggested. "We know you're good at it."

Albus tapped her foot with his under the table and winked at her. Liam scrutinized his girlfriend, trying to find some clue as to what was going on.

Ayla sighed and leaned back against Liam's chest, resting her book on her lap.

After several hours, Ayla eventually fell asleep in Liam's arms, followed by the others until only Albus and James were awake.

"She's so beautiful," Al murmured, gazing at Ayla. Her eyes were lightly closed, her hair draped over her left shoulder, the right side of her face against Liam's chest. James moved to sit next to his brother and looked at Ayla as well.

"She really is," he whispered. "She's shivering," he noted.

Albus stood up, pulling off his sweatshirt and creeping towards Ayla, trying not to make any noise.

"Al, what are you doing?" James hissed, scrambling to his feet. Albus carefully laid his sweatshirt over Ayla. "Man, don't you think Liam's going to wake up at some point and wonder why the hell Ayla's using your clothes as a blanket?"

A grin spread across Albus's face. "You know, James, he just might," he said simply, walking away from the group and over to the other side of the library by the windows. James followed him, sitting next to his brother on the ground beneath the rain-splattered windows.

"Albus, you are…" James laughed incredulously. "You're crazy, man."

"Yeah, crazy for Ayla."

"Crazy in general," James argued playfully, shoving his brother.

"I couldn't get that from my big brother, could I?" Albus asked innocently, smirking, and James shot him a joking glare.

Albus sighed, his smirk fading. "Just everything she does…she's just so perfect."

"I get it," James admitted. "I feel the same way."

"I don't know, I'm, like, conflicted here," Albus told him. "I can see she's happy and I feel like I want to be happy for her, but…I can't help but hope that she ends up with me."

James stiffened slightly. "Would you feel that way if it was someone else she was dating?"

Albus thought for a moment. "Well, yeah, I don't have a problem with Liam. At least I didn't until he and Ayla started dating. But I would feel that way about anyone that's keeping Ayla and me apart."

"What if it was me?" James asked boldly and Al's eyebrows shot up.

"You?" he asked in surprise.

"Thanks a lot," James said shortly, turning away.

"Come on, bro, you know I didn't mean it that way."

"No, Al, just answer the question. If Ayla and I were someday together, would you let it come between us?"

Albus struggled with his answer. "W-well, we can't _share _her," he admitted and James shook his head in angry disbelief.

"I can't believe you, man," he said, standing up.

"Oh, like you wouldn't do the same thing?" Albus bellowed, forgetting that they were in a library. "If we were together, you wouldn't resent me too? Come on, James, I know you, and—"

"What's going on?" Ayla asked and the boys whipped around. She was standing a few feet away, with Liam behind her.

"Nothing," the boys said quickly and Liam shook his head, running a hand through his tousled hair.

"I'm going to bed," he declared, kissing Ayla and leaving the library. Ayla watched him leave, followed by the rest of the group, then turned back to Albus and James, beaming.

"You two like the same girl?" she demanded through her smile. "Oh, my god, that's so cute! Who is it?"

"Nobody," James said, staring at Albus.

"Tell me!" Ayla begged, grabbing Albus's arm and looking up at him with pleading eyes.

"No," he laughed at her expression.

"Please, please, please, I'll do _anything_!" she pleaded.

"Anything?" James asked from a few feet away and she turned to him, releasing Albus's arm.

"Don't," Albus commanded his brother, knowing what he was thinking.

James shot his brother a look, then looked back at Ayla, whose wide eyes were begging for the truth.

He finally cracked a smile at Ayla and shook his head. "Not gonna happen, Torres, sorry."

"Ugh, I hate you both!" she exclaimed playfully.

"The feeling is mutual," Albus returned and she smacked him lightly. He laughed loudly and returned the jab, then put her in a playful headlock while she giggled and tugged on his arm. James joined in, grabbing Ayla's feet and flipping her over so she was slung over Albus's shoulder. She laughed uncontrollably now, squirming to hit either one of them. Albus finally released her so she fell on the plush armchair, where she immediately sprung up and jumped on Albus's back, messing up his hair as payback.

Madam Pince rushed over, a scolding look on her face. "I take break for dinner and _this _is what happens?" she demanded and Ayla hopped off Albus's back. "I knew you two Potter boys should not be allowed in here; you are too much like your father!"

The boys snorted and Ayla smiled apologetically.

"You, Miss Torres, should not surround yourself with these Potter children!"

"Maybe I'm keeping them in line," she returned with a smile and Madam Pince smiled tightly.

"Well…work on that, will you?" she walked away and the three of them burst into laughter.

"Wow, Ayla, who knew you could sweet talk teachers? We could definitely use that…" Albus said wickedly and she took a jab at his abdomen, earning no reaction whatsoever from him.

"Geez, Al, are you packing rocks under there or something?" she demanded.

He smirked confidently and Ayla shook her head, chuckling.

"Alright, we should probably head back to the common room," James said reluctantly and Ayla turned to him.

"Are you kidding me?" Ayla demanded. "I'm not leaving; I still have so much studying to do!"

"Ayla, you're a genius; you'll pass these exams with flying colors," Albus assured her and she shook her head.

"No, I have to do perfectly on all of them or I've got nothing, so you guys can go but I'm staying."

"Nothing?" James repeated. "You've got more to offer than just your smarts, you know. I mean, it's incredible to be that smart but you've got even more than that."

She smiled shyly. "Thanks, James," she said, surprised at his sincerity. "I'm still staying, though, so I'll see you tomorrow."

"Nope," Albus replied simply, picking up his muggle studies book. "You're not staying alone."

"And I'm not walking back alone, so you two have got company," James announced, cracking open his Potions book.

Ayla smiled to herself and picked up her Dark Arts notes, settling into her chair across from the boys who were doing what Liam _should _have done.

X

On the first day of finals, Ayla paced back and forth frantically in the common room.

"So today we have Potions, then tomorrow we have Dark Arts, then Wednesday we have both Charms and Transfiguration, and we're off Thursday and Friday," Lily read from her exam schedule. "Next semester's schedule will be even worse. I'll have Herbology, Flying, History of Magic, and Astronomy."

"Are you kidding?" James demanded, "That's _way_ better; that's, like, the best schedule ever. My exams are Potions today, Dark Arts tomorrow, Charms and History of Magic on Wednesday, Divination Thursday, and nothing on Friday. Next semester, I've got a packed course load. Believe me, you have to take more and more classes with each year."

"And I have Potions today, Dark Arts tomorrow, Charms Wednesday, Muggle Studies on Thursday, and I'm off Friday," Albus announced. "Next term, I'll have Herbology, Transfiguration, Astronomy, and History of Magic."

Ayla continued to pace back and forth nervously, mouthing the Potions information to herself.

"Ayla, will you chill?" Liam asked from his spot on the couch. "You're gonna do great; probably better than anyone else in this room." Ayla sat down on his lap and he kissed her. "Seriously, Ayla, you'll be fine."

"We should probably head down," Lily announced.

Panic hit Ayla again and her eyes widened in fear, her stomach flipping.

"Good luck, guys," Albus called as he left the common room. James followed, as his classroom was all the way on the other side of the castle.

Ayla, Liam, Lily, and Hugo left, wondering where Bradley was.

"How funny would it be if he missed the exam?" Liam chuckled as they headed to the classroom they were assigned to for the exam, which was not their regular Potions classroom.

Their exam proctor was Professor Binns, a ghost who taught History of Magic.

"Hello, students," he droned in his monotone. "I will now pass out the exam and you can begin immediately."

Ayla looked over at Liam. "Where's Brad?" she mouthed and he shrugged.

Ayla turned to her desk when Professor Binns placed the exam on it. She bit her lip nervously as she began.

The two pages were slightly easier than she expected; having questions pertaining to the functions of different ingredients. The next three pages were about the reactions when certain ingredients are mixed together, followed by two more pages of questions about specific potions, and finally several short answer questions and three essays. When Ayla finished the concluding sentence on her last essay, she walked to the front of the room, placed the exam in front of a sleeping Professor Binns, then returned to her desk and pulled out her Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook to begin studying for her next exam.

Liam looked over at her incredulously, his eyes falling on the textbook. He chuckled and turned back to his own desk.

The door suddenly burst open and Bradley rushed in, waking Professor Binns.

"Hey, sir, I'm here to take my test!" he declared, seeming frazzled.

"Young man, the testing session is more than half way over."

"I know, I'm sorry, I overslept."

Professor Binns handed him his test and Brad rushed to his seat, but paused to make eye contact with Liam. He nodded suggestively and Liam's jaw dropped. Brad turned back to his test and Liam, not accepting the lack of details, checked to make sure Professor Binns was sleeping before flinging a pencil at Brad's head.

"Dude!" he hissed. "Were you and Natasha—?"

He leaned over toward Liam, lowering his voice. "We were snogging in her dorm and ran out of time," he explained. "Now gimme your test!" Before Liam could respond, Bradley snatched his test and moved it to his desk, quickly copying the multiple choice answers, then tossed the sheet back to Liam. Liam glared at him and finished his last essay question, then turned his test.

"W-wait, man!" Brad hissed, grabbing the corner of Liam's shirt to hold him back. "What did you get for the second short answer question?"

"Get off me!" Liam whispered, yanking his shirt from Brad's grip and handing in his test.

When the final was finished, Professor Binns dismissed them, initiating a huge amount of chatter from the students about the test they had just taken. Ayla stepped toward Liam's desk, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"You ready to go?" she asked brightly.

"Mr. Cade and Mr. Taylor, I would like you to stay so I can speak to you," Professor Binns announced, and the class fell silent before a chorus of '_oohs' _filled the room.

Liam glanced at Ayla and she looked concerned.

"I—I'll see you later," he said helplessly, knowing what was about to happen. She nodded and exited the classroom with Lily and Hugo, glancing back over her shoulder as they left, seeing Bradley and Liam seated in front of Professor Binns' desk.

X

Ayla waited anxiously in the common room. James sat on the couch to her left, Albus to her right, and then Lily. Hugo was on the armchair next to Lily.

"I'm sure they're fine," Albus said sincerely. "Binns is an idiot; he probably just felt like yelling at someone and chose them."

"They've been in there for an hour," Ayla told him, upset. "That doesn't seem fine to me."

"Seriously, Ayla, he's probably just being a jerk."

"I just want to know what happened," she said helplessly.

"I know what happened," Natasha announced, appearing out of nowhere as usual. "Your dumbass boyfriend was cheating off Bradley's exam sheet."

Ayla turned around to face her. "There's no way that's true; Bradley came in late. Liam was almost done his exam by the time that Brad even got there. If anything, it must have been the other way around."

"We'll never know, will we? Because if I know Brad, he'll find a way to get Liam blamed for it. He's good at getting out of trouble; that's what I love about him."

"So you're saying he's good at blaming other people for everything and getting everyone else into trouble?" James said coldly.

"Oh, now I see why you two make a great couple," Albus said in a mockingly sincere voice.

Natasha scoffed and rolled her eyes before stalking away with her arms crossed. Ayla shook her head, settling back into the couch.

"She is unbelievable," Ayla said angrily.

"Don't let her get to you," Albus told her. "She just wants to get a reaction out of you."

"It's working," Ayla said tensely and Albus laughed in agreement.

The door to the common room opened and Bradley and Liam slunk in, both considerably paler than they had been that morning.

"Thank God you're okay," Ayla said, hugging Liam tightly. He kept his arm around her when she pulled back. "What happened?"

"Binns saw Brad copying my exam," Liam explained.

Brad walked away, slamming his dormitory door behind him loudly enough that the furniture shook.

"He let me off with just detention because I wasn't cheating, but Brad got a zero. He'll probably have to retake this next semester, and whatever class he misses while he's doing that will be made up either next year or in summer school."

Albus and James glanced at each other. "Rookie," they said together, and Ayla giggled, having always found it amusing when they said things at the same time.

"Well, I'm glad they're letting you off with a warning," Ayla told him. "Now, I'm going to go study."

X

The rest of the exams went by, and on Friday morning, they all received their scores. Ayla got out of bed early and raced to the Great Hall, where the house heads were handing out the score sheets.

Ayla, Lily, Liam, and Hugo stood in line in front of Professor Longbottom, with about a dozen people in front of them. Ayla waited nervously, tapping her fingers against her crossed arms in anxious anticipation. When they reached the front of the line, Ayla looked nervously at Professor Longbottom.

"Hi; Ayla Torres," she told him and he flipped through the files, mumbling as he went.

"T…Ah, Torres, here you go," he said brightly, handing her the file. She looked eagerly at it.

Potions 98.8% Defense Against the Dark Arts 97.4% Transfiguration 99.6% Charms 100%

She smiled brightly at her near-perfect scores.

"How'd you do?" Lily demanded when she and Hugo had received their files. Ayla handed it to her and Lily's jaw dropped. "Ayla, these are incredible!"

"Thanks," Ayla exclaimed, beaming.

Liam handed her his scores. He had gotten B's on Transfiguration and Charms, and C's in Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts. He too was amazed when he saw Ayla's scores.

"You know," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I _do _love smart girls."

"Oh, do you now?" she asked flirtatiously, draping her arms around his neck and kissing him.

"Save it, guys," Lily joked, pushing them playfully towards the door. Albus and James were waiting in the common room when they got there.

"How did you do?" Albus asked Ayla. Ayla handed her file to the Potter brothers and they both gaped at them.

"Oh, my god, this is amazing!" James exclaimed.

"Yeah, I've never gotten higher than a B on any of mine," Albus said in awe.

Ayla smiled and looked at her grades once again. "Is Brad still refusing to get out of bed?" she asked and Albus nodded.

"Well, he needs to because we have detention in ten minutes," Liam said, walking to his dormitory to wake Brad.

Lily and Hugo left to put away their grade sheets and Albus and James turned to Ayla.

"Can you walk with us somewhere?" Albus asked and Ayla looked surprised.

"Yeah, of course," she said, following them out of the common room. The ended up on the astronomy tower.

"What are we doing?" Ayla asked, looking around. Albus's hands were behind his back and James was standing behind him with his wand out like he was doing a spell on Albus's hands. Ayla looked at them curiously and the two brothers grinned.

Albus slowly pulled his hand out from behind his back, smiling ear-to-ear, to reveal a cupcake with a candle on it.

"Happy Birthday!" the two boys cried together. Ayla gasped excitedly.

"How did you know it was my birthday?" she demanded happily.

"You told me one time," Albus said simply.

"And you _remembered_?" she asked incredulously, beaming hugely.

"Of course," he replied, grinning at James.

Ayla blew out the candle and blinked tears from her eyes. "Thank you so much," she choked out, her eyes swimming with tears.

"Whoa, whoa, what are you crying for?" James asked uncomfortably, stepping back.

"What's wrong, Ayla?" Albus asked, concerned.

"Nothing," she answered, overcome with emotion. "It's just—nobody's ever remembered my birthday before," she admitted.

"_Never_?" James demanded and Ayla shook her head. "Not even your family?"

"What family?" Ayla asked unthinkingly, then realized she's said too much when she saw James's confusion on his face. "Thank you guys so much; I love you both for doing this! This is the sweetest thing that anyone has ever done for me." Her words were strained with her effort not to cry. She hugged them both. "Thank you," she whispered, and could feel them smiling ear to ear as she embraced them tightly.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

On the first day of the second-term classes, Ayla woke up earlier than usual to make sure she could find all of her classes. She stepped into the common room with her schedule, and saw Al lounging on an armchair.

"Oh, hey, Al!" she exclaimed cheerily and he looked up and grinned.

"What are you doing up at…" he looked at his watch. "Four-thirty."

"I wanted to get a look at my classes before everyone else starts waking up. What about you?"

"Couldn't sleep," he said simply. "You want some company?"

"Sure!" Ayla replied brightly and Albus hopped up, following her out of the common room. "So, do you know where the greenhouses are?" Ayla asked as they descended the steps after getting yelled at by the Fat Lady.

"Yeah, they're around the back of the castle," Albus explained. "I'll show you."

They walked down several sets of steps and out the back door of the castle to the greenhouses and Albus jiggled the handle of the door, but it didn't budge.

"Oh, it's fine, we don't have to go in," Ayla assured the disappointed boy in front of her.

"Please, Torres, I know you know how to break in."

She laughed. "Yes, I'm sure I do, but it's a greenhouse; we don't need to break in. What exactly would we be breaking in to see?"

"I have a secret plant stash in there," he admitted.

"Why?" she demanded with a laugh.

"If I want to brew a potion, it limits the number of ingredients I have to steal from Slughorn," he explained simply and she laughed once.

"So rather than break the rules by stealing, you break the rules by stealing Professor Longtbottom's plants and stashing them away for yourself," she concluded and he shrugged.

"Eh, if Neville finds out, he might tell my Dad but he wouldn't report me."

Ayla laughed again. "And if he finds out we broke into the greenhouse?"

Albus cracked a grin. "So we _are _breaking in?"

She sighed in defeat and looked around before pulling a pin out of her hair. She pried the two sides apart with her front teeth and stuck it in the lock on the door, twisting it until the lock sprung open. She shot a smile at Albus and opened the door. Albus walked to the back of the room and crouched down to pull a long green tray off of a shelf. He removed the top of the tray to reveal a line of eight plants, looking proudly at them. Ayla laughed, stepping closer.

"So this one is aconite…"

"Actually, that's Wolfsbane," Albus corrected and Ayla raised her eyebrows. "Wow, I never thought the day would come when _I _would prove _Ayla Torres _wrong!"

Ayla stepped closer, looking at him, hiding a smile. "Aconite _is _Wolfsbane," she told him and he blushed slightly.

"Oh," he said dejectedly. He laughed. "Just when I thought I was becoming a genius!" he joked, grinning stupidly, earning a laugh from Ayla.

"Is this asphodel?" she asked, examining one of the plants and Albus nodded proudly. "Wow, you've got aconite, asphodel, dittany, fluxweed, hellebore, knotgrass, sopophorous beans, and gurdyroot. Wow, Albus, this is quite the garden you've got here."

Albus laughed loudly but Ayla quickly shushed him.

"What?" he asked urgently and she shushed him again, grabbing his arm and ushering him towards a door to a supply closet.

"Someone's coming," Ayla hissed, pulling him into the closet and pulling the door behind them so she could see out the thin crack that supplied the only light source to the closet. She watched as Professor Longbottom walked in, wearing pajamas and whistling, and picked up a tin of water, quickly spritzing each of the plants with it. He wiped his hands on a towel when he was finished and, to Ayla's horror, began walking toward the supply closet.

"Get down!" Ayla hissed, grabbing a dark blue tarp off the floor and diving to the ground. She and Albus crammed between the floor and the bottom of the lowest shelf, throwing the tarp over themselves. Neville continued to whistle as he grabbed something off the top shelf. Ayla laid uncomfortably over Albus, his hand resting on her back to keep her still. They held their breath until they heard the door swing shut behind Neville. Ayla breathed a sigh of relief, sliding off Albus and pushing the tarp back into the corner. She stuck her head out of the closet to make sure Neville had left before leaving with Albus, brushing the dirt off of her jeans.

"Well, that was fun," Albus commented, and Ayla glared at him. "I can't believe he didn't notice my plant tray," Albus noted as he placed it back in its hiding spot. Ayla nodded in agreement and reached for the door. She wiggled the handle but nothing happened. She smacked at the door with her palm, confused. Then it dawned on her and she dropped her hand from the door, leaning back against it, her face in a panicked expression.

"What's wrong?" Albus asked her, jiggling the handle.

"Neville locked it from the outside," she told him simply and he cursed loudly.

"What do we do now?" he demanded, wiggling the door handle with more force. She grabbed his wrist.

"That's not going to do anything," she told him and he sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets and leaning his back against the door.

"So I guess we're trapped, then."

Ayla laughed dismissively. "Do you know me at all?" she asked with a grin, stepping toward the window.

"The windows are locked in position," Albus explained. "They open them slightly so that the plants can get sunlight but they don't open any farther than that. So unless you want to explain to McGonagall why we broke a window…"

Ayla rammed her elbow into the window and stepped back as it shattered.

"What are you—" Albus hissed but Ayla wasn't listening. She climbed up onto the shelf and wiggled herself through the tiny window until she was on her feet outside. She poked her head back in to see Albus gaping at her. "I can't fit through there!" Albus protested.

"Okay, just hang tight," she assured him. "I'll pick the lock out here and let you out."

She disappeared around the side of the greenhouse, pulling another pin out of her hair. Albus heard the click of the lock and ran toward the door in relief.

"Now what are you going to do about the window?" he demanded.

"Easy," she said confidently, twirling her wand in her fingers. She walked back around the side of the greenhouse and pointed her wand at the broken window. "_Reparo_," she said calmly and the broken pieces molded together to form an undamaged window.

"Wow," Albus breathed. "Where did you learn that?"

"What, the spell, the lock-picking, or squeezing through the window?"

Albus laughed once. "All of it."

"Same place I learned everything else," she said simply.

"Sunnydale?" he asked and she nodded.

"I had a little tiny window by the ceiling of my cell. My bunkmates would boost me up there and I had to break the window, squeeze out, and then fix the window all the time."

"What did you do when you snuck out?" Albus asked as they walked back towards the castle.

Ayla shrugged. "Anything," she admitted. "Sometimes I would just go out and sit somewhere and just be away from that place."

"Wow," Albus said quietly.

"What?" Ayla asked uncomfortably.

"N-nothing, it's just…I have no interesting stories. You learned your spells from being locked up in a cell by your abusive father; I learned them reading a book."

Ayla shook her head, looking slightly stunned. "Having stories isn't always a good thing," she told him quietly.

"I didn't mean that it was," he assured her quickly. "I just meant…you never fail to amaze me, that's all."

She smiled shyly. "I'm surprised I don't scare you more than I surprise you," she admitted.

"I'd never be afraid of you," he promised her. "I know that you had no control over what happened to you; just because you came from a dangerous past doesn't mean that you're a dangerous person."

Her eyes filled with tears. "Thank you; I wish more people would realize that—"

"Maybe they would," Albus interrupted. "You haven't told anyone; maybe they'd surprise you."

She shook her head. "No, they wouldn't," she insisted. "People that are lucky enough to grow up safely just don't get it." Her eyes softened as she looked up at him. "Except you," she added. Then her face grew more serious. "Why _do _you get it so well?"

"I don't necessarily get it; I mean, I have no idea what that would be like, but…" he took a deep breath. "When it comes to you, it all seems to make sense."

Ayla blushed and looked down. "I, uh, I should…we should go see the other classrooms probably."

"I—okay," Albus said tiredly, following her back into the school.

They walked up to the astronomy tower, where Ayla sat on the half-wall surrounding the tower. Albus climbed up next to her, where the rising sun shone in their eyes.

"The sky looks so pretty from here," Ayla said quietly, gazing out at the orange sunset.

"I'm surprised," Albus said playfully. "I would have thought you were a sunset type of person."

"So many people love them, and I don't get that. The sunset is the sun going away; what's happy about that? No one appreciates the sunrise; which is like everything good coming into the day. The sunset is everything good going away for the night; I just don't get the appeal."

Albus stared at her in awe until Ayla laughed uncomfortably.

"What did I do _now_?" she asked.

"You just…_amazed _me again," he told her, gazing into her eyes. She held the eye contact for a few moments before blinking and looking away as she changed the subject.

"Look, you can see the Quidditch field from here," she said, pointing.

"You like heights, don't you?" Albus asked, looking at the way her eyes lit up.

"I do," she admitted. "It's like, you can see everyone but no one can see you up here. Don't you just feel…I don't know, invincible?"

He laughed once. "Yeah, I kind of do."

She pointed down to a large area of grass. "Is that where flying class takes place?"

"Yeah," Albus said, peering down at it. "Madam Hooch is bound to be pretty impressed when she sees your flying."

"Eh, she's seen better," Ayla said, nudging Al's arm with her shoulder.

"We have to play Quidditch again soon," he told her.

"I'm ready to kick your ass any day," she said playfully and he laughed, sliding off the ledge and onto the stone floor of the top of the tower. He held out his hand to help her down and they walked back into the castle. Once they had seen the History of Magic classroom, they walked back to the common room. It was about 6:15 by the time they entered the room again.

"Thank God!" came Liam's voice when they entered and Ayla jumped in surprise.

"Liam, I didn't see you!" Ayla exclaimed, but Liam cut her off by hugging her tightly.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" he hissed at Albus, who stepped back, hands up.

Ayla put her hand on Liam's chest to keep him away from Al. "Whoa, Liam, calm down!"

"I woke up and figured you might be awake so I knocked on your door and one of your roommates answered and said you weren't there, and I have been panicking for the past _hour _wondering where the hell you were!"

"Liam, I'm sorry, I was just—"

"Yeah, I can see," Liam interrupted bitterly, glaring at Albus.

"Man, we were just walking around," Albus assured him calmly.

"Right," Liam said sarcastically.

"Liam, don't you trust me?" Ayla demanded.

"Maybe I would if you ever told me a single thing about you like you do with Albus!" he cried, and Ayla looked shocked. "Yeah, that's right. I know that you've told him all the stuff that you haven't told me. You're not fooling me, you're not fooling him, and you're not fooling anyone. Everyone knows that you two are crazy for each other so just go with him if that's what you want."

Albus's heart leapt and he pulled his hands out of his pockets, ready to hug Ayla when she ran from Liam into his arms.

"No, Liam, that's not what I want!" Ayla exclaimed, looking up at him pleadingly.

Al's heart sank and he shoved his hands back into his pockets, walking into his dormitory completely unnoticed by Ayla and Liam.

"Liam, I don't want to be with Albus; I want to be with you!"

"Then why do you tell _him_ everything and _me_ nothing?"

"Because I just…" Ayla took a deep breath. "Because you don't want to know," she said quietly.

"Yeah, I sure as hell do want to know!" he bellowed and she took in a shaky breath to hide her tears.

"What do you want me to tell you?" she demanded, her voice breaking weakly.

"Start with how you know Natasha," he snapped.

"You don't want to know that," she said firmly.

"Fine. I'll give you a choice. Either you tell me what happened to you or we break up."

Ayla blinked away tears. "Liam, I—"

"Yeah, that's what I thought," he said, turning away and starting toward the door. Ayla caught his elbow.

"Wait," she begged. She drew in a long, trembling breath, her stomach churning sickeningly. "Liam, please, just _try _to understand. I want to tell you this stuff but I _can't_, I just—"

He shook his head. "You can if you want to," he said simply. "If you want to be with me."

"Liam, please, stop!" she begged, tears streaming down her face. "You're starting to scare me; you look like you're about to hit me or something if I don't—"

"What the hell would make you think I would hit you?" he roared furiously and her anger and fear took over her.

"Because I've been hit before!" she shrieked. "My abusive father used to hit me every single day when I was growing up until he was finally put in jail just months ago! He beat the crap out of me _constantly_, and then he threw me in a home to turn me into a muggle for a year and a half until he took me out when he found out I was doing wizardry!" Liam looked stunned but Ayla continued her yelling. "_That's _where I met Natasha; _that's _where I learned to play Quidditch, and _that's_ what I've told Albus about, okay? That's my big secret; I had a deadbeat father who used to beat me up. I'm so sorry you were out of the loop here, Liam!" she bellowed sarcastically.

He reached for her comfortingly but she yanked her arm away. "Ayla, I'm sorry, I didn't know, I—"

"No," she interrupted. "You were right; we're over. Congratulations, you got your wish" she told him through her tears, brushing past him and walking straight to the place where Liam always feared she would go.

He held in his tears as he watched Ayla crying as she knocked on the door to Albus's dormitory.


	22. Chapter 22

Albus closed the dormitory door behind him, hearing Ayla and Liam still fighting in the common room. "Hey, man," his roommate, Seth, greeted him. Albus nodded at him, pulling out his robes. He removed the t-shirt he had been wearing and tossed it on his bed, then grabbed the too-long red and gold tie that had belonged to his lanky older brother the year before.

"What is all that yelling?" Another roommate, Matt, asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Ayla and her boyfriend," Albus explained, laying the tie on top of his robes on the bed. The yelling outside suddenly stopped and was replaced by a rapid pounding on his door. He looked down at his shirtless self, trying to decide whether or not to put his t-shirt back on. He decided against it and pulled open the door to see Ayla gasping for breath between her sobs. "Ayla, are you okay?" He demanded, immediately pulling her into a hug. He smoothed her hair as he hugged her tightly.

"Liam and I broke up. I told him, Al, I told him everything!" Albus glanced back at his friends, who were all watching, and stepped into the common room, pulling the door shut behind him.

"What happened?" Albus asked, concerned. "He said that he would break up with me if I didn't tell him, and then I just got freaked out and told him and then he tried to apologize but I was mad and I told him we were over because I can't believe that he threatened me with that and I just thought that-"

"You did the right thing," Albus assured her, hugging her again. "He had no right to threaten you with something like that; I can't even believe that he did that. "

"What am I going to do, Al?" She asked tiredly, leaning into his chest, needing the feeling of someone's arms around her.

"He didn't deserve you," Albus promised. "You shouldn't be with anyone who can't accept it when you don't want to talk about something. He pressured you into telling him and that's not okay. I mean, if he forced you into that, who knows what else he would try to do? You're better off without him, and I mean that. You'll find someone better. Or maybe you already have; you never know."

Ayla pulled back from his arms, looking up at him. "Who?" She asked curiously.

"I-I-it could be anyone, I mean. No one in particular, just someone more deserving of you than he is." "How many people out there will actually accept what happened to me and not let it affect anything between us?"

"I'm sure there are some," Al said softly. "Me, for example," he said with a laugh. Ayla laughed, and then sniffled.

"Thanks, Al," she said sincerely. She wiped her eyes. "How do you always know exactly what to say to help me?"

"I told you," Albus said simply. "When it comes to you, everything makes sense." Ayla smiled up at him.

"I'm sorry you have to see me cry so much," she said quietly and Abus laughed incredulously.

"What?" He asked, chuckling.

"I'm always crying in front of you; you probably think I'm the biggest baby in the world." Albus let out another single laugh.

"Not at all. I think you're amazing, honestly." Ayla gazed up at him as if she was trying to see if he was serious. He looked deeply into her eyes to prove he was entirely serious and she smiled softly.

"You're pretty incredible too, Al. I think you're the only person who's ever treated me like a normal person after knowing about my life."

"Maybe I just care more than anyone," Albus said quietly and Ayla hugged him tightly.

The best feeling in the world, Albus thought as the wonderful girl in front of him held her arms around him.

X

Ayla walked into the greenhouse with Lily, having just told her about her breakup with Liam.

"But you guys were so perfect!" Lily cried.

Ayla shrugged simply, allowing a smile to enter her face. "If it was meant to be, it would happen," she said simply.

Lily looked at her suspiciously. "You seem way too okay with this. I would have thought you'd be more upset."

Ayla hid a smile as they each took their place behind a plant.

"What?" Lily asked. "What don't I know?"

The corners of Ayla's mouth tilted up and she looked at Lily. "Albus talked to me after it happened and he just really helped me get over it. Honestly, I'm okay now. I was upset for a little, but Al helped me. I'm fine now, really."

"What did Albus say?"

"A lot," Ayla said softly, deep in thought. "Look, it was nothing in particular that he said," she told her. "It was just...he was there and that's...that's everything. He just talked to me and I really needed that and everything he said was so...perfect."

"Wait, you don't like Albus now, do you?" Lily demanded.

"Why would you ask me that?" Ayla asked, blushing furiously and looking away.

"Um, because your face is more red than your Gryffindor tie."

Ayla glanced over at her. "T-that doesn't mean I like him," she protested, blushing even more.

"Uh-huh," Lily said skeptically. She looked at her friend for a moment, then realized that she actually didn't realize how Albus felt about her. "Wow, and they think you're the smart one," she joked.

"What do you mean?" Ayla asked. She caught sight of the window she had fixed and hid a smile.

"Nothing," Lily lied, deciding it was best not to interfere. "So, was Albus wearing a shirt during this whole conversation?" She asked and Ayla blushed even more. "Yeah, that's what I thought," Lily laughed, turning back to her textbook in front of her.

X

After History of Magic and Flying, Ayla ran into Albus in the common room. "Oh, hey, Ayla!" Albus exclaimed, surprised at how happy she looked. "How are you?"

"I'm great, actually," she said, a grin spreading across her face. Liam glanced up at them from across the room. He didn't look quite as happy as Ayla. "Thanks for talking to me this morning," she said sincerely. "Really, I owe you one."

"Of course," he said sincerely. "And you don't owe me anything. Hey, do you want to hang out later? I know you have astronomy last period so I could meet you there and we could sit up on the tower again."

"Yeah, sure!" She agreed brightly. "I should head to class now, but I'll see you later!" Ayla walked with Lily to astronomy, and her mind wandered to Albus as the Professor discussed the syllabus in great detail. She glanced at her watch constantly, waiting for class to be over, knowing Albus would be waiting for her. When class finally ended and they were dismissed, Ayla was the first out of her seat. She waited by the door until Albus arrived.

"Hey!" He greeted her. "I was thinking; do you want to go into Hogsmeade instead of hanging out up here? There's this one lake I wanted to show you."

"Yeah, sounds good," she agreed, following him to the door. He stepped aside, allowing her to go first. They left the castle and walked down the path to a Hogsmeade. "It's always so pretty here," Ayla said in awe, looking around.

"Beautiful," Albus murmured, gazing at Ayla. As they set off towards the lake, Albus gently reached his hand toward Ayla's, intertwining his fingers with hers. She looked over at him and smiled softly. They walked along a winding path until they reached a frozen-over lake.

"Wanna ice-skate?" Albus offered, grinning. "We don't exactly have sakes, but I guess we could do it in shoes," Ayla agreed. She followed him onto the ice.

"Have you done this before?" Albus asked and Ayla shook her head. "We'll, I'm terrible at it," Albus admitted, wobbling. Ayla slid forward on the ice gracefully while Albus stood awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

"Come on!" Ayla said, grabbing his hands and pulling him with her as she slid around the ice. "See, you're getting the hang of it!" She laughed as she let go of his hands and he managed not to fall. Albus grinned and stepped towards her.

"Your hands are almost blue, Ayla," he noticed, taking both of her hands into his.

"Th-thanks," she stammered, unsure of why she was so nervous.

"Anytime," he murmured in equal apprehensiveness.

His eyes closed softly as he leaned down and pressed his lips against Ayla's, his hands still clasped around hers. Ayla kissed him back, her hands slipping out of his and resting on his shoulders, raising onto her tiptoes to reach his lips. He laid his hands on her waist and kissed her for longer, her soft lips molding with his. He moved his hands to her face, feeling her icy cheeks under his naturally warm palms. Ayla's fingers gripped the fabric of his shirt gently as they kissed. After a few more moments, Ayla slowly pulled back, her forehead resting against his.

"Wow," she breathed and he exhaled in agreement. His arms wrapped around her and he returned his lips to hers once more in the frigid winter night.


	23. Chapter 23

Ayla laid in bed later that night, gazing up at the ceiling, unable to keep the smile off her face. Everyone else was asleep and a sliver of light from the moon shone above her bed. She closed her eyes softly, rolling onto her side and continued to smile, remembering her kiss with Albus. She could still feel it on her lips, the tingle where his lips had been. She touched her mouth gently with two fingers, smiling against her fingertips as she thought of the kiss again. She slowly fell asleep wondering whether Al was thinking of the same thing.

X

Albus propped himself up on his elbow in bed, grinning ear-to-ear. Seth, the only roommate who was still awake, glanced up at him from the bed next to his. "What are you all happy about?" He asked and Albus looked at him, his smile spreading even wider.

"Ayla and I kissed. Like, a lot."

Seth sat up. "No way, man, really?"

"It was amazing. She's amazing."

"Is she a first year or a second year?" Seth asked, pushing back his sheets and sitting on the edge of his bed.

"First."

"That's tough," Seth said pitifully.

"Not if we're meant to be," Albus replied simply. "And I know we are."

"That doesn't mean it'll be easy."

"Yeah, well, I'd be willing to walk through hell to be with her; a little bit of 'not easy' is worth it."

"Wow," Seth murmured. "That must be a good feeling to know that you care about someone that much."

"Believe me, I didn't think I would. But I couldn't be happier that I did."

"Guess you're one of the lucky few," Seth said, lying back down.

"More like the lucky _only_. I don't think it's possible to find someone like her. She's her own person; I can tell you that much."

"Night, man," Seth muttered as he pulled the blanket over his head.

"Yeah, night," Albus replied distractedly, gazing up at the moonlight slashing across his ceiling and wondering if Ayla was seeing the same light .

X

Ayla woke up the next morning to the bright sun beaming into her eyes. She squinted and pushed back her sheets, climbing out of bed and walking stiffly to the bathroom. She stretched her arms and back and rubbed her eyes. Lily came out of the bathroom just as Ayla was reaching the door.

"You got in late last night," Lily noted, hiding a smile. "Were you off...making up from your fight with Liam?"

"It wasn't a fight, it was a break up," Ayla clarified. "And no, I was with Al," she said, smiling shyly as she held her toothbrush under the stream of water in the sink.

"You were with Al?" Ayla demanded loudly, causing Ayla to flinch.

"Yeah, why?" she asked, not making eye contact with Lily so that she wouldn't see her blush.

"So you and Liam are definitely done?" Lily asked, sounding upset.

"We broke up," Ayla said simply. "We've both moved on; we're both fine."

"Did you see if he's fine?" Lily asked, moving closer so that Ayla had no choice but to make eye contact.

"It was his idea to break up in the first place; why would as need to check if he's fine?"

"What if he think there's a chance for you two and then he sees you with Albus. If you like Albus and it might turn into something, Liam should hear it from you _before_ it turns into anything."

"Yeah, it might be too late for that," Ayla said awkwardly, scratching her head uncomfortably.

"Oh, Ayla, you didn't!" Lily exclaimed and Ayla blushed, walking past Lily out of the bathroom. Lily followed her to her closet as Ayla continued to look away from her while she grabbed her robes. She turned to see that Lily was staring at her expectantly and she sighed.

"Okay, fine, Albus and I kissed."

"Just once?"

"Umm, not exactly..."

"Oh, geez, Ayla! You just broke up with Liam!"

"I know, I know, but Albus is...he's...I don't know, he's there for me and it felt right, and..."

"And?" Lily demanded.

"And I don't regret it," Ayla admitted, unashamed. "I'm glad we kissed, honestly. And I'll tell Liam before someone else does, but I'm not going to feel guilty for it."

Lily sighed. "If only it was that easy for Brad and I," she groaned, flopping down and throwing a pillow over her head.

"You'll get Brad," she assured her simply as she changed into her robes. "You just wait and see. Now, I'm going to go talk to Albus and Liam." She left Lily in the dormitory with the pillow over her head and walked through the common room to knock on Albus's door. He opened the door immediately, still wearing his pajamas and beamed when he saw her.

"Hey, Ayla!" He stepped back to let her in. "The guys went to breakfast early," he told her, shutting the door. "So how are you?"

"I'm good, how about you?" She returned brightly.

"Had a pretty awesome night," he said with a wink. She smiled at him, but it faded after a moment.

"So, um, this might be awkward, but...where do we stand? You know, after last night."

Albus looked surprised but quickly regained his composure. "Oh, um, well, I'd like to think that we could be together if you're okay with that. But if you're not ready quite yet, I completely understand!" He added speedily. He waited to see her reaction before continuing. "Are you...are you ready?"

A smile spread across her face and she nodded. "I'd really like that," she admitted, grinning and his face burst into a smile.

"Me too, Ayla, I'd really love to be together."

"So, I guess we're together, then." Ayla smiled hugely up at him.

Albus clasped his hand with hers. "I guess we are, girlfriend," he returned, grinning and Ayla beamed.

"I like the sound of that," she said playfully and Albus kissed her.

X

Ayla took a deep breath, her hand hovering by Liam's doorframe, her stomach clenching. She let out her breath all at once, getting ready to knock, knowing that once she did she couldn't change her mind. Before she could think about it any more, the door opened and Liam jumped when he saw her.

"Geez, you scared me!" He exclaimed, clutching his chest. "I was just going to meet Brad in the library."

"Sorry," Ayla said, blushing in embarrassment. "I was just, um, I wanted to let you know..."

Liam glanced at his watch impatiently and Ayla stared at him.

"What?" Liam asked innocently with a sharp edge to his voice. "I told you, I'm meeting Brad. What do you need?"

Ayla inhaled deeply and looked at Liam. "I wanted to let you know before someone else does that Albus and I are together now."

Liam's face fell but he quickly wiped away his frown. "Yeah, that's cool," he said in a forced casual voice. He looked away, nodding. "We're good."

"O-okay. Great. I just wanted to let you know."

Liam nodded. "Yeah, uh, congrats, I guess. I'll catch you later." He stepped around her and exited the common room as quickly as possible. Ayla sighed sadly, knowing she and upset him.

"Well, that went well," came a cold voice and Ayla turned to see Natasha and groaned internally.

Natasha smirked, walking over and crossing her arms. "I'm sure he really appreciated the personal dumping speech there; real nice of you."

"I was trying to do the right thing and tell him myself before someone else did," Ayla explained calmly.

"Oh, like who?" She took in Ayla's silence and laughed once angrily, pursing her lips. "You mean me? Of course. You still don't trust me."

"I don't trust anyone," Ayla replied simply.

"Oh, I don't blame you. I mean, I wouldn't either if my father r-" she began loudly.

"Natasha!" Ayla cut her off, grabbing her arm and pulling her aside behind the staircase to the girls' dormitories. "I know what you're doing; I know you're trying to get Albus to find out what happened to me. But guess what? He already knows so your little games aren't doing anything for you!" She snapped.

"What about him?" Natasha asked, grabbing Ayla's shoulders and turning her to face where Hugo was studying across the room. "Or those two?" She asked, pointing to Lily and James. "Or the rest of the school?" Ayla turned back to her to see Natasha smirking victoriously. "That's right; I could ruin your life if I chose to. Don't forget that." She stalked away, leaving Ayla in anger behind her.

X

Ayla sat on Albus's lap, ranting about Natasha. "And then she threatened to tell everyone what happened to me, and honestly I don't even know what on earth she wants. At this point, I'll do pretty much anything; I just have no clue what she wants me to do, you know?"

Albus nodded, deep in thought. They were sitting on the bench at the foot of her bed and Ayla had recounted her conversations with Liam and Natasha.

"Maybe they're just sort of empty threats, you know?" Albus suggested . "Maybe she's just trying to psyche you out. Just ignore her, though, you can't let her do that to you."

"I don't know how _not_ to, though," Ayla responded, standing up and pacing back and forth in front of him. "I mean, it's not like I can just _not_ see her; I mean, we see each other all the time."

"You just have to ignore everything she says to you and just not let it get to you. Just pretend she's not there and sort of zone out when she's talking to you. It'll all blow over at some point, I promise," Albus said sincerely.

Ayla smiled at him, sliding back onto his lap. She kissed him once then wrapped her arms around him. "You always know what to say," she said sweetly, resting her head on his shoulder.

A smile spread across his lips and he kissed the top of her head. _I know_ _what_ _to_ _say_ _to_ **_you_**, he thought, _but_ _it's_ _what_ _to_ _say_ _to_ _James_ _that_ _I'm_ _worried_ _about_.

X

Albus spotted James sitting on the couch in the common room and alone and walked over to him nervously, wringing his hands uncomfortably.

"Hey, man," Albus greeted him. "How's it going?"

"Not so great," James said glumly. "And once I tell you, you probably won't be happy either."

Albus looked at him, puzzled.

"I just heard from Liam that Ayla has another boyfriend."

Albus stifled a gasp, his heart racing, and James nodded at him.

"My reaction exactly," he said tiredly.

"Yeah, um, James..." Albus began and James sat up immediately when he heard the tone of his brother's voice. "I've got something to tell you, too. Well, it's kind of the same thing you told me, in a way..."

James looked confused for a moment before it dawned on him. "It's you, isn't it?" He asked softly. "You're Ayla's new boyfriend?"

Albus nodded cautiously. "Yeah, man, it's me." Al's heart felt broken as he saw the way his brother's face fell.

"Congratulations, man," James said quietly, struggling to keep his voice from breaking. "I know you guys will be really happy together."

"James, I-"

"No, it's okay," James cut him off. "Really, there's tons of girls here that I could get in a heartbeat."

Albus looked at his brother sadly. "But you don't want a ton of other girls," Albus said knowingly. He had meant it as a question but it came out more like a statement.

"You know me too well," James accused softly. "But really, bro, it's okay. We knew it'd be one or the other, right? So we're fine."

Albus nodded understandingly. "I'll see you later, buddy."

James stepped aside to let Albus past and then flopped down onto the couch, dropping his head into his hands. He took a deep, shaky breath and choked back his tears.


	24. Chapter 24

Ayla rested her head on Albus's shoulder as they sat on the couch in the common room.

"I feel so relieved now that we've told everyone who might be upset about us," Albus said, kissing the top of Ayla's head.

She sat up, looking curiously at him. "Everyone?" She repeated. "Wasn't it just Liam?"

"Liam and James."

"James?" Ayla asked, confused. "Why would James care?"

Albus silently cursed himself as he realized he'd said too much. "Oh, he said something once about how it had been too long since he'd had a girlfriend and he was talking about how lame he would feel if I got a girlfriend before he did," he explained smoothly.

Ayla gasped excitedly. "We should set him up!"

"I, uh..." Albus scratched his neck awkwardly. "We, uh..."

"_Please..._" Ayla begged, gazing up at him with her beautiful wide eyes.

Albus's heart softened and he gave in reluctantly. "Alright, with who?"

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ayla squealed, kissing him passionately.

"N-no problem," he managed, flustered, when she finally pulled back.

"Come on!" She exclaimed, grabbing his hand. "We have to go look for a girl to set him up with!"

Albus sighed dramatically and stood up, following her out of the common room with his hand in hers.

On the way to the Great Hall to look for girls for James, Albus spotted something in his peripheral vision as they passed the third floor corridor. Al pulled Ayla gently and pointed.

"Oh, wow, I guess he doesn't need our help," Ayla laughed.

It was James a little ways down the hallway, snogging a girl with long blonde hair.

Albus sighed in annoyance at his brother. _Not a way to solve your problems, James, _he thought, but he couldn't help but hope that this girl was more than just a way to forget about Ayla. _James deserves to be __happy too, _he told himself.

"Do you think he'll tell us or do you think he'll keep it a secret?" Ayla asked wickedly, twisting around to look at Albus. Albus's eyes glinted as he grinned.

"This could be fun," he admitted and Ayla laughed in glee.

"Come on," she said brightly, pulling his hands toward her. "Let's go get dinner."

Albus held her hand as they walked to the Great Hall for dinner, groaning when they saw that the only seats were across from Brad and Natasha.

"Oh, hey, guys," Natasha said with mock sweetness, and Brad wrapped his arm around her.

"Hey, Natasha," Ayla returned calmly, dishing some chicken onto her plate.

Lily came down to the Great Hall and Ayla slid closer to Al to make room for her. Lily squeezed into the tiny space between Ayla and the fifth-year on her left. Albus pulled Ayla gently onto his lap to make more room. She perched his left knee as they ate.

Natasha looked challengingly at Ayla and Albus, then turned to Bradley and engaged in rather loud snogging. Ayla crinkled her nose and Albus set his fork down loudly in disgust. Lily looked down sadly. When they pulled back, Natasha smirked at Ayla and turned back to her dinner.

"Alright..." Ayla said quietly. "It wasn't really meant as a contest; I was just making room for Lily."

"We all know _exactly _what you were doing, Ayla," Natasha said coldly. The two fifth years on Lily's left got up and exited the hall when they finished dinner, and their seats were taken momentarily by James.

"Hey, guys," James greeted them, digging in to the food in front of him. "What'd I miss?" He asked, seeing Albus and Lily glaring at Natasha.

"Nothing," Ayla assured him, and changed the subject. "Natasha, I like your shirt, it's really, er, fun," she complimented, making every effort to be nice despite the horridness of Natasha's shirt.

Natasha looked down at her too-small, tight, neon, sequined shirt with feathery trim around the edges. "Yeah, you know, I used to wear shirts like _yours_," she sneered, gesturing towards Ayla's light blue v-neck. "But then I developed actual _taste _in fashion."

"At least Ayla's doesn't look like she soaked it in glue and dragged it through a strip club," James said through a mouthful of pudding and Ayla let out a laugh, trying to hide it by turning her head against Albus's shoulder and looking away from Natasha. Albus laughed even louder, grinning at his older brother.

Natasha pursed her lips, slammed down her fork, and stalked away. Bradley leaned over the table and whacked James alongside the head, getting pudding on his tie on the process. He cursed loudly and wiped at the fabric as he ran after her.

James snorted and turned back to his food.

"Thanks, James," Ayla said sincerely and James shook his head to say it was no big deal.

"I got your back," he said simply. "So, I haven't asked you in a while, how are Sheldon and his girlfriend?"

"I talked to her in the library a few days ago, and she said it's going great," Ayla announced with a grin. "We actually did pretty well," she admitted and James gave her and his brother each a high-five.

As Albus and James engaged in conversation, Ayla leaned close to Lily. "See, Brad will dump her eventually. If she keeps acting like that, he'll realize it someday too."

"I hope so," Lily said sadly and Ayla put her arm around her bracingly.

"He will," she said again.

"You ready to go?" Albus asked Ayla and Ayla glanced at Lily, who nodded.

"Yeah," Ayla said cheerily, taking his hand and following him out of the Great Hall.

"By the way," Albus said when they left the Great Hall, pulling her gently towards the wall and taking both of her hands. "_I _think you look beautiful in that shirt." He leaned down and kissed her, feeling her lips spread into a smile under his.

X.

Ayla felt the sun on her shoulders as she and Lily sat in Herbology, the sun beating through the slightly cracked windows. They were working together on a project; analyzing the growth of a wolfsbane plant.

Lily examined the purple flowers growing from the leaves of the plant. "These are pretty," she commented. "But the leaves are so ugly; they're all brownish and prickly. They look like they might be dead."

"The ones on the other side are even worse," Ayla agreed and Lily spun the pot that the plant sat in. The ceramic pot wobbled out of her control and crashed to the ground, spraying soil over the two of them and causing Professor Longbottom and all of their classmates to turn towards them. Ayla burst into giggles followed by her best friend. Liam glanced over then turned back to his and Brad's plant.

"What happened?" Professor Longbottom asked, grabbing a sweeper and bin to clean up the mess. Ayla and Lily, still overcome with laughter, began brushing off the soil from their clothes, which only pressed the stains in deeper. Ayla cursed through her laughter and picked up a cloth, wiping off her clothes.

"Forget it," Professor Longbottom said calmly, taking the cloth from her, suppressing his own laughter. "You two are dismissed; just go back to your dormitories and wash off. I'll see you both tomorrow."

"No fair!" Bradley whined from across the classroom and Ayla stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

Ayla flicked soil at him and pointed to Lily as if she had done it. "Oh, no, now Lily's gotten Brad all messed up, too," she said shamefully. "I guess all three of us have to leave?"

Professor Longbottom looked suspiciously at the two girls then nodded reluctantly. Brad cheered and dashed out of the greenhouse with the two girls.

"Okay, Lily, you are a _genius_," Brad said thankfully and Ayla smiled slyly seeing that her plan had worked.

Lily gave Ayla's arm a gentle squeeze in thanks and Ayla shot her a warm smile.

They entered the common to see Albus, whose face lit up when he saw Ayla.

"Al!" She exclaimed, surprised to see him, and ran into his arms.

"How'd you get out of Herbology?" He demanded and she smiled proudly.

"Lily helped," Ayla admitted. "Come on, let's go for a walk," she said brightly, and the two of them left the common room.

Lily sat down on the couch and Bradley flopped down on the armchair across from her.

"So where's Natasha?" Lily asked curiously and Brad glanced at her and shrugged.

"I think she has, like, history of magic now or something. She doesn't really tell me stuff," he said and Lily frowned, confused.

"What do you mean?" She asked curiously, pulling her knees to her chest.

"I mean, she doesn't really like to talk when she doesn't feel like it. And if I ask her a question, she'll tell me I'm being nosy and then just not answer me."

"Why do you even like her?" Lily blurted, and instantly regretted it when she saw his face. His angry expression softened after a moment and his voice sounded weak when he spoke.

"'Cause she'll go out with me," he admitted.

Lily laughed incredulously. "That's it? Brad, you should be going out with someone who you like for a real reason; like they make you happy or they make you laugh or you enjoy their company."

"W-well, I enjoy looking at her," Brad admitted quietly and Lily glared at him. "What did I do?" He demanded with a laugh.

"If you're not happy, then don't go out with her."

"And what do you care about my happiness, soil-thrower?" He asked playfully.

"Hey, I grew up with two brothers; I don't mind guys who are asses," she returned and Brad's face finally spread into a grin.

X.

Ayla's hands rested on Albus's chest as they kissed in the fourth-floor west corridor. His hands gently held her face, fingers fiddling with her hair. Ayla opened the door behind her back and led him inside the supply closet, running a hand softly through his hair. After several enjoyable minutes, they heard the door open and both pulled back immediately to see Kiche, the school's janitor.

"Uh, hi, sir," Albus said, clearing his throat.

"Custodian's office, now," Kiche commanded and Albus groaned, resting his hand on the small of Ayla's back, guiding her gently out of the closet and following Kiche to his office, where they sat in the two chairs in front of his desk. "Public displays of affection are strictly against school policy," he told them informatively.

Albus snorted. "No, they're not," he argued through suppressed laugher.

"Well, they're against _my _policy, young man."

"Oh, my bad, sir," Albus said sarcastically. Ayla kicked him lightly to get him to stop and he looked at her assuringly. "How can I make it up to you?" Ayla knew he was up to something when she saw the slight smirk spreading across his lips that she knew all too well. "I was just going to be heading down to the Great Hall after...well, you know, what you walked in on. I was really craving this one thing...I don't know the word for it; I'm blanking right now. It's kind of like a pie, but savory..."

"You mean a quiche?" The janitor asked, making a face that exposed his several missing teeth.

Albus snapped his fingers, the smirk growing wider. "That is it, thanks, sir."

"Get out of my office," Kiche commanded, pointing to the door. Albus gave him an sarcastic salute and held the door for Ayla, following her out.

"What the hell was that?" Ayla demanded in awe.

"His last name is Kiche, and he gets really annoyed if people pronounce it like _quiche. _Even more than that, he hates being outsmarted."

"And you tricked him into saying it," Ayla concluded, grinning. "Way to go."

"Do I get a reward for that?" Albus asked flirtatiously, stepping towards her and she laughed, raising onto her tiptoes again and kissing him.

X.

Ayla gazed up at the moon, perched in the wall around the astronomy tower next to Albus. His arm rested lightly around her, her head leaning on his shoulder.

"What are you thinking about?" Albus asked softly.

"Actually, I was thinking about gymnastics," she told him. "It's been a while since I've done it; I'll probably be picking it up again this summer. So I've still got a while to go."

"You miss it?" He asked, pulling back slightly to see his face.

"It's, like, my way out. I just feel so far away from _everything _when I perform. It's like I'm in my own little world." She stood up on the narrow ledge they were sitting on.

"What are you doing?" Albus asked, sliding off the ledge and landing on the ground.

"My beam routine," she said with a smile, staring straight ahead in focus. Albus gazed up at her as she went through her incredible routine. She spun into a triple-illusion and four fouetté turns before her double-Arabian dismount. Albus's jaw dropped as he stared at her.

"That was...absolutely the most incredible thing I have ever seen," he said in awe and she beamed. "Here, I'll show you the basics." They hopped back up on the ledge and Ayla held his hands to keep him steady as he shakily walked across. Ayla walked backwards, matching Albus's pace as he walked across the beam. Ayla laughed loudly as Albus made an attempt to spin around. "Okay, I think I got it," Albus announced and Ayla hopped down to watch him. He held his arms out for balance as he walked slowly along the narrow ledge. She clapped and laughed as he took ten steps without wobbling.

Ayla's heart nearly stopped when Albus's foot landed on a loose rock, causing him to lose his balance. His arms flailed frantically as Ayla leapt onto the ledge, grabbing his arms desperately. He steadied himself and looked into Ayla's eyes that were rapidly filling with tears. She threw her arms around him, feeling an intense pain in her chest.

"Oh, my god, Al," she whispered, hugging him tighter. "You scared the hell out of me." He tightened his arms around her and thanked her tearfully.

"That was honestly the scariest thing that has ever..." He shook his head, pulling Ayla even closer.

Ayla's stomach twisted and her heart felt sore as she hugged Albus. And she knew that the feeling she had just had; the legitimate pain in her chest from the momentary thought of losing Albus...well, that feeling was love.


	25. Chapter 25

Lily stood next to Ayla in flying class, holding her broom in one gloved hand. "What have you been so happy about all day?" Lily asked suspiciously, catching Ayla smiling to herself for the second time that day.

"I realized..." Ayla inhaled deeply, fiddling with her scarf. "I love Albus. I mean, I _knew _that, but I'm _in love _with him."

"You mean like you were '_in love' _with Liam?" Lily asked sardonically. She sighed and gave her best friend a reluctant smile. "Alright, _Juliet_, what happened this time?"

Ayla beamed, holding her hands close to her heart. "Last night, we were walking on the ledge of the astronomy tower, and Albus nearly fell," she explained, struggling over the end of the sentence. "I jumped up and grabbed him before he fell, but the feeling I had..."

"Well, Ayla, that's just human instinct. You would have felt that for anyone."

"No, it wasn't, though. Afterwards-I know this sounds cliche-my heart literally hurt just thinking of what could have happened to him. I don't know, it was in that moment that I knew...I can't be without him."

Lily rolled her eyes theatrically. "Yeah, for now," she said teasingly.

"Lily, I'm serious, I really love him. It's like he knows me more than anyone has ever known me in my whole life. Liam...Liam was really sweet, but I never felt like he understood me completely. And I'm not blaming him; I'm a tough person to get to know and I realize that. But Al...he just found a way to know me."

Lily cracked a smile at her best friend. "You wanna know who _I _got to know better yesterday?"

Ayla squealed and grabbed her arm. "My plan worked?"

Lily beamed. "We talked in the common room for a while. He's kind of having some...changes in feelings for Natasha."

"See, and now you were there for him while he was with Natasha, and he'll remember that for when those two are done," Ayla explained simply.

The two girls turned to look at Bradley, who was jumping on me end of his broom in an attempt to catapult Liam across the field. His broom shot up and smacked him in the nose, causing him to drop to his knees clutching his face. Ayla burst into giggles followed by Lily, earning a glare from Madam Hooch as she helped Bradley to his feet.

Brad waved Madam Hooch away and wiped blood from his nose. He looked exasperated as she ushered him to the hospital wing. Liam glanced over to see Ayla looking in his and Brad's direction. The smirk at his friend's stupidity faded and he lifted the corner of his mouth awkwardly, raising a hand in a halfhearted wave.

Ayla smiled just as stiffly as she waved back.

"Regrets?" Came Natasha's cold voice and Ayla turned, arms crossed.

"Not one," she returned calmly while Lily demanded what she was doing lurking around a first-year class.

"Uh, my boyfriend is in this class, in case you haven't noticed," Natasha returned.

"Yeah, well, in case _you _hadn't noticed, he just got taken to the hospital wing. If you'd actually come here to watch him, you would have known that," Lily told her and Natasha brushed past her, bumping Lily's shoulder roughly. Lily glowered after her and returned to Ayla's side with her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

"I _hate _her," Lily growled and Ayla nodded. "She hates _you_," Lily added and Ayla laughed.

"Yeah, she makes no secret of that."

"Class dismissed!" Madam Hooch announced. "I need to see you in your broom a bit more, Miss Potter," she said sternly as she walked past Ayla and Lily. Lily groaned and Ayla looked at her comfortingly.

"Don't worry about it; you'll catch up next class."

Lily smiled at her and followed her inside, to the hospital wing to check on Brad. Liam and Hugo were already there when they walked through the doors, filling an ice bag for Brad.

"This is so bloody stupid; can they just let me out?" Brad said angrily, pressing the ice pack against his face.

"Don't worry, we've got you," Ayla assured him, walking away to find Madam Pomfrey's new assistant, who handled the releasing of patients. She returned a few moments later and nodded to Brad. "You're good to go," she announced and Bradley's jaw dropped.

"No way, how did you do that?" He demanded.

"Are you kidding? That new assistant; he graduated last year and he has no idea what he's doing. But, uh..." She glanced around. "You might want to get out before Pomfrey sees you."

Bradley tossed the ice pack aside and dashed out of the hospital wing followed by his friends.

"Wait! Young man, come back!" Came Madam Pomfrey's voice as the door shut behind them.

"Crap!" Ayla whispered through her laughter, pulling her friends around the corner as they all huddled against the wall.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" James and Albus asked, walking down the hallway towards them.

"Shh," Ayla hushed, grabbing Albus's hand and pulling him towards the wall. "Madam Pomfrey is after Bradley," she explained through her suppressed laughter.

"Man, you better run!" Albus ushered Bradley along. "For someone her age, she is _crazy _fast."

Bradley took off down the steps, with Ayla and Albus at his heels, followed by Lily, James, and Liam.

"You guys want to go get some food before last period?" Brad offered and they agreed, heading into the Great Hall.

Ayla and Albus slowed down to walk with James.

"So, James..." Ayla said slowly, looking up at him. "Any girls in your life lately?"

James blushed. "Why would you ask me that?"

"I like to keep tabs on my friends' love lives!" She said brightly, smiling, not noticing the drop in James's face at the word _friends. _"So,your answer?"

James sighed, sitting down at the Gryffindor table with Ayla next to him and Albus next to her. Ayla and Albus leaned towards him eagerly.

"This one girl," he admitted.

Ayla smacked his arm excitedly. "Details, James, come on!"

James sighed, finally smiling. "Her name is Bridget."

"Aw, that's so cute!" Ayla squealed, making a face that made both Albus's and James's eyes melt into softness. Albus's heart swelled as he looked into Ayla's eyes, and felt broken just a moment later when he saw the devastated look on James's face, knowing exactly how he felt.

"Y-yeah, we should double sometime," James suggested, struggling for words.

"Yeah, we should! I'd love to meet her!" Ayla exclaimed happily and James smiled sadly.

"I-I'd love for you to get to know her," James managed.

Ayla looked at her watch and groaned, leaning her head against Albus's shoulder tiredly.

"I don't want to go to astronomy," she moaned and Albus kissed the top of her head.

"I'll be waiting by the door when you get dismissed," he promised, stretching out his hand. They said goodbye to everyone and walked slowly up to the astronomy tower.

"Bye," Ayla murmured when they got there, holding both of his hands and looking up at him.

"I'll see you after class," Albus said, gazing down at her, meeting her wide, dark eyes. He leaned down to kiss her slowly, stretching out the kiss for several seconds then pulling back and hugging. She felt his firm chest against her as she hugged him.

She felt him move as Brad slapped him on the back as he walked past them. Ayla smiled at Brad then turned back to Albus.

"I'll see you later," she said, kissing him once more. He smiled at her, walking backwards until he nearly fell down the steps, earning a gasp that turned into a giggle from Ayla. When he was gone, Ayla walked back into the classroom, sitting down next to Lily.

"I don't know, Lily," Ayla said in a dreamy voice, smiling. "It's this weird feeling...I miss him even when we're just apart for one class. I spend all class just counting down until the next time I can see him."

"_Everyone _counts down till the end of class, Ayla," Lily teased.

Ayla shook her head, the faraway smile on her face not fading. "It's different," she said softly. "I mean it."

X.

James ran his hands through Bridget's long blonde hair, his lips crushed against hers, his shirt laying on the floor next to them. His eyes opened for just a moment and he gasped at what he saw.

_Ayla gazing up at him with her big eyes, completely..._

James shook his head frantically and returned to reality to see Bridget looking curiously at him.

"James? You okay?" She asked, her hand on his chest.

"Y-yeah, I gotta go, Bridge. I, uh, I'll talk to you...later." He picked up his shirt and ducked out of her dormitory, leaving her confused behind him. He heard her yell after him as he dashed into his dormitory, into the bathroom, and splashed water on his face to rid his eyes of tears. "Get it together, James, stop thinking of her that way," he ordered his reflection. "If you do anything stupid, you'll never get her and you'll lose Albus, too!" He continued, staring at his teary eyes in the mirror.

X.

Ayla, Albus, James, Bridget, Brad, and Natasha all crammed around a small table at the Three Broomsticks with their butter beers sitting on the table in front of them.

"I ran out of black eyeliner this morning," Bridget announced. She had been the only one talking for-Ayla glanced at her watch-_thirty-seven _minutes.

Albus nodded slowly, inhaling deeply, rotating a sugar packet in his fingers, doing his best to pretend he wasn't bored out of his mind listening to Bridget.

"Wow, what happened next?" Bradley asked with mock interest and Bridget looked genuinely excited that someone was listening to her stories.

"I got my daddy to send his owl to drop off more," she assured the group as if they had truly been worried. "So it's all okay."

"Thank God," Albus said sarcastically, earning a stifled laugh from Ayla. He suppressed his own laugh and put his arm around Ayla.

"Oh, and _then_, my flat iron wouldn't work, but then I realized it just wasn't plugged in!" Bridget exclaimed with a high-pitched giggle that made Albus feel as though his eardrum had been shattered. "I have to pee," Bridget declared. "Do you want to come with me, Ayla, Natasha?"

"Sure," Ayla said, standing up. Natasha stared at her for a moment before reluctantly following.

Albus watched them leave and waited until the door to the bathroom swung shut before turning to face James.

"Dude, what are you thinking?" Albus demanded.

"I'm thinking...you _know _what I'm thinking."

"Man, she hardly has he vocabulary to hold a conversation, and when she does, it's with herself. It might be fun now, but you are _not _going to want to be around _that _in the long run."

"Yeah, Al, well, why does it have to be _the long run_? Why can't I just be with someone just to have some fun?" James retorted and Albus sat back, holding up his hands.

"You can do whatever you want," he told his older brother. "I'm just warning you."

"I don't need your help," James said simply and Albus nodded slowly, looking down.

"I think she's hot," Bradley commented casually with a shrug. "Nice one, man." James stuck out his fist and bumped Brad's.

"You two are _disgusting_," Albus said incredulously. "You can't even hold a conversation with her, she-" he stopped as the girls returned from the bathroom.

"Oh, my gosh, the soap in the bathroom smells so good!" Bridget enthused, smelling the backs of her hands.

"I rest my case," Albus said calmly, then turned to Ayla. "Come on, I want to show you something," he said, taking her hand. Ayla followed him curiously as he led her up a stairwell in the back. "Welcome to the roof of the Three Broomsticks," he announced, gesturing around.

Ayla looked around the roof to see a small table with two chairs in the corner, two lounge chairs in the center and a dusty light by the ledge.

"You can see the castle from here," she noted, pointing ahead.

"Yeah, you can," Albus said softly, following her gaze.

"How did you know about this?" Ayla asked and Albus shrugged mysteriously.

"Helps if your family knows Madam Rosmerta."

Ayla laughed. "It's really nice," she observed. "Thanks for showing me. Oh, and thanks for getting me out of there," she laughed and Albus grinned.

"Anytime. Seriously, if you want out of anything, I promise you I will be there to get you out " he promised sincerely.

"_Any_time?" Ayla repeated, looking up at him hopefully, biting her lip uncertainly.

"Of course," he replied immediately. "What do you have in mind?"

"Class tomorrow," she admitted. "I'm already two weeks ahead in my studying and I's rather spend the day with you," she explained, interlocking her hands behind his neck and peering up at him.

"Oh, easy, no problem," he said without hesitation. "And I like the sound of that." He kissed her softly. "It's the last day before a holiday weekend, so we have four days off. I'll get you out, no problem."

Ayla beamed and kissed him again.

X.

Albus strode confidently into McGonagall's office with Ayla by his side.

"Hello, Headmistress," he greeted her politely and she smiled thinly.

"I'm going home to visit my family for the holiday weekend and I'd really like to show Ayla here around my Dad's office. Purely education," he added assuringly. "But it's closed for the weekend so I wanted to know if the two of us could be excused from class tomorrow."

Professor McGonagall sifted through a drawer in her desk for a few moments before pulling out a blank blue slip. She quickly scribbled a signature and held it out to Albus. "Say hello to your father for me," she requested.

"Can do, ma'am." Albus shut the door behind them and Ayla hugged him immediately.

"Oh, my god, Albus, you are a _genius_!" She exclaimed.

"Wow, you know you're doing well when _Ayla Torres _thinks you're a genius!" Albus returned teasingly and she shoved him playfully.

"Where did you come up with that excuse, though?" She demanded, impressed.

Albus pulled two train tickets out of his back pocket. "Surprise!"

Ayla gasped, grabbing the tickets. "We're actually going to visit your family?"

Albus nodded, grinning. "Do you like it?" He asked apprehensively and she threw her arms around him, kissing him excitedly.

"Thank you, thank you, I love it!"

"I love you," Albus declared, staring into her eyes. "I _love _you, Ayla."

Ayla gazed into his green eyes for several seconds, her own eyes lit up with excitement. "I love you too!" She cried, hugging him tightly, feeling his smile lifting his face. She gazed into his green eyes and smiled hugely. He kissed her again, both of them smiling against each other's lips.


	26. Chapter 26

**Hope you enjoy! This is a pretty intense chapter, so please, please, please review!**

Once Ayla has returned from her trip to McGonagall's office with Albus, she returned to the common room and spread out her textbooks and papers on the table in the common room. She sat on the floor in front of the table and took notes on her Herbology textbook.

"Ayla?" Came Albus's voice. Ayla looked up to see James and Albus standing in front of her.

"Hey!" She said happily, setting down her quill and closing her book.

"We need your help," James told her. Ayla stood up immediately, nodding.

"Yeah, sure. What is it?"

Albus looked around to make sure no one was listening as James began in a hushed tone.

"Okay, so we're making a potion for Sheldon that will make is hands and feet grow huge, and-"

"Genius," Ayla shot in approvingly and James and Albus grinned.

"Thanks," James continued, "the problem is, we need some ingredients from Slughorn's closet. My secret plant stash in the greenhouse didn't quite cover it."

"What do you need me to do?" Ayla asked.

"Well, Slughorn's got these muggle locks on the door. It's a padlock," Albus explained. "And you're the only person I know who can break into one."

"Oh, no problem," Ayla said easily, seeming surprised at the simplicity of the task. She followed them out of the common room. When they reached the floor that the closet was on, Ayla paused at the beginning of the corridor. "James, you wait here to help us carry the ingredients upstairs. We're more likely to get caught if there are more of us in there."

"Especially if one of us is freakishly tall," James agreed, gesturing towards himself with a grin. "Alright, good luck."

Ayla nodded in thanks and walked down to the supply closet with Albus. She knocked three times confidently.

"What are you doing?" Albus whispered, gently grabbing her wrist.

"Seeing if he's in there! It's better than picking the lock and finding him in there and having to explain why we were trying to break in."

Albus nodded in agreement and stepped back as Ayla casually leaned her back against the door.

"Can you keep a look out?" She asked him. "And try to make it look like you're talking to me so we don't look suspicious."

Albus rested an arm on the wall next to the door, looking as casual as possible, and made light conversation as Ayla broke into the padlock behind her back effortlessly. Albus looked around one last time before ducking inside with Ayla.

"Keep your wand out and don't turn your back from the door," Ayla instructed helpfully and Albus did so, his hand clenched tightly around his wand. "What am I looking for?" She asked. Albus rattled off the ingredients and Ayla shimmied around the shelves, climbing on the wiry racks to retrieve the components. She hopped down when she was finished, pouring half of the things she had grabbed into Albus's arms.

"Okay, go, go, go!" Albus whispered anxiously, ushering her ahead. They dashed out of the potions closet, sprinting down the hallway to reach James, who took Ayla's armful of ingredients and barreled up the steps with them, all three laughing in glee and excitement. They reached the common room and slammed the door behind them, panting.

Albus's face erupted into a grin and he set down his ingredients and hugged Ayla tightly. "We did it," he said proudly, squeezing her tightly against him and then slapping James on the back. "We got away with it. Now we just have to make the Potion."

"Where should we brew it?" James asked. "I mean, we can't do it in my dormitory because Sheldon will see."

"We'll use mine," Albus said, picking up the ingredients and shifting them around so he could free a hand to open the door to his dormitory. He dumped the ingredients on the floor and set his cauldron down next to them while James unloaded the ingredients he held as well. Ayla sat on the floor next to the cauldron and scanned the recipe that James had torn from a book.

After they added the first seven ingredients, the recipe instructed them to stir for a minute and a half and then let it rest for fifteen minutes.

James took over the stirring, and Ayla moved to sit on Albus's bed. Albus stood up and stretched, then moved aside the ingredients that they had already used. He gazed down at Ayla sitting on his bed and blinked rapidly and cleared his throat to wipe away the thoughts swimming through his mind. James smirked knowingly at his brother from his spot on the floor. He stood up and wiped his hands on his jeans, setting the ladle down next to the cauldron.

Ayla looked at James and grinned. "So, where's Bridget?"

"Uh, I think she's writing to her dad with her list of things she wants for her birthday."

"That'll take a while," Albus muttered under his breath and James turned to him. "I mean, first she needs to learn to write, and then-"

James smacked his brother alongside the head and Albus laughed, punching him lightly in the gut.

Albus flopped down next to Ayla once he had flung James off his back.

"I'm going to get some food," James announced. "Do you guys want anything?"

"I'll have a water if you don't mind," Ayla asked politely and James nodded.

"Same," Albus requested and James left the dormitory.

Albus laid on his back once the door had closed and Ayla rested her head on his chest, Al's arm around her shoulders.

"What are you thinking about?" Albus asked softly after a moment of silence.

Ayla sat up and Albus followed, looking intently at her.

"I don't know, for the first time in my life, I feel _normal_."

Albus grinned foolishly at her. "You're at wizard school making a magical potion, Ayla," he reminded her, his smile stretching across his face. She shoved him playfully.

"I know, but...it's weird. For the first time, I feel like my childhood isn't defining me. Maybe it's just how much I love everyone at this school. Well, almost everyone. And I just...I feel free."

Albus wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. "That's really great, Ayla. It takes a lot to break free from something like that." Ayla smiled, leaning closer to him. "My girlfriend, the comeback kid," Albus declared and Ayla laughed loudly.

"No way," she giggled. "I am _never_ going by that."

Albus laughed and kissed her. She kissed him back, still laughing, and the two of them laid back on his bed.

They heard a loud throat-clearing and scrambled up. James was standing in the doorway. He nodded in greeting and handed them their waters.

"Thanks, James," Ayla said, blushing and James smiled at her.

"We should be able to finish the potion now," James announced, crouching down.

Ayla watched as James added the remaining ingredients and stirred the potion.

"Ten more minutes to let it sit and then it should be finished," he announced, sitting next to Ayla and Albus.

"Hey, Ayla, do you mind if I talk to Albus for a second?" James asked and Ayla sprung up.

"Sure!" She said sweetly, stepping out of the dormitory. James and Albus watched the door close behind her before turning to face each other.

"What's up?" Albus asked, putting his hands in his pockets.

"I wanted to ask you something...um, well, the winter formal is coming up. There's one for the fourth and fifth years, and there's one for the sixth and seventh years. Um, Bridget is going to be visiting her family so she can't go. I would just skip it altogether, but there's mandatory attendance for all fourth and fifth years on the Quidditch team. So I was wondering if-"

"If you could take Ayla," Albus finished for him. "Look, if it's this weekend, it won't work because Ayla and I are going to visit mom and dad."

"No, it's not this we-wait, what?" James demanded. "You're taking Ayla to meet mom and dad?"

Albus nodded. "We're leaving tomorrow morning."

James looked down. "O-okay, well, can you just think about the dance thing?"

"It's not really my decision, James, ask Ayla."

"I just wanted to make sure it was cool with you first," James explained.

"Yeah, well, I trust her."

"What, you don't trust me?" James demanded.

"Yeah, James, of course I do. But you have feelings for Ayla, so..."

"I get it. I'll ask her myself," James said, and opened the dormitory door. Ayla smiled at them both and walked back in.

James cleared his throat and stepped towards her. "Look, Ayla, there's this, uh, this dance next weekend. I was wondering if you wanted to go with me. Bridget is going out of town and I need someone to go with because I'm required to attend. Would you...?"

"Uh, s-sure, I guess so," Ayla agreed, shrugging simply. "You don't mind, do you?" She asked Albus, biting her lip.

"Of course not," Albus assured her. He grinned teasingly at James. "It's not like he's good-looking anyway," he joked and James put him in a headlock.

James released his brother with a quick shove to his head and turned back to Ayla. "It's semi formal; dresses but not gowns, suits but not tuxes."

"Sounds perfect," Ayla said brightly and James smiled in thanks. Albus slung his arm around Ayla's shoulders and looked down at the potion.

"Time for the fun part," he announced, pouring the potion into a flask and handing it to James.

The three of them headed to the Great Hall for dinner, the flask resting in James's pocket. Ayla and Albus said with Lily and Hugo while James sat down next to Sheldon a few seats down the table.

"What's James up to?" Lily asked and Ayla quickly explained, watching as James inconspicuously poured the potion into his own flask and swapped it slyly with Sheldon's while he was looking away.

Sheldon turned back to the table and James gently dropped the flask onto the ground and moved to sit with Ayla, Albus, Lily, and Hugo.

The five of them all watched Sheldon, waiting for him to take a sip of his drink. Bradley walked into the Great Hall and sat across from them.

"What's up, guys?" He asked, grabbing a turkey leg.

James explained their plan briefly, watching Sheldon intently. Sheldon lifted his goblet and took a drink. James nearly jumped out of his chair and Ayla erupted into giggles at Sheldon's face as he limbs and head began to swell to twice their size. The students around him stared as Sheldon panicked, their eyes wide and confused. Sheldon let of a panicked wail and dashed out of the common room. Albus buried his head in his hands, laughing hysterically.

The group slowly recovered from their fits of laughter.

"How long does the potion last?" Lily asked curiously.

"It's just a couple hours," James answered, running a hand over his face to wipe the tears that had come from laughing so hard.

"Hey, Brad, what was our History of Magic homework?" Hugo asked innocently, earning a glare from Brad. "Oh, that's right, I forgot," he lied. "You're not taking History of Magic yet because you had to retake Potions."

Bradley gave his friend a fake scowl and flung a glob of mashed potatoes at him, earning squeals of disgust from Lily and Ayla.

"How's that going, by the way?" Hugo asked, returning to seriousness.

Brad sighed. "It's easier the second time around because I already know some of the stuff, but it still sucks. Because now I have to take History of Magic either over the summer or in place of another class next year. If I take it next year, then I'll have to make up whatever class I miss doing that, and then whatever class I miss making up the class that I missed while I was taking History, and-"

"You lost me," Hugo interjected and Bradley rolled his eyes jokingly. Liam entered the Great Hall and sat down next to Bradley.

"You know what I mean. So I'll probably just take it this summer. Although, um, Binns thinks he told my dad about what happened, but...I gave him the wrong number. My dad will freak out."

"Well, Brad, he's going to find out at some point. Even if you take it next year instead of in summer school, he's going to find out. They send a copy of your schedules home," Ayla explained.

"Yeah, my older brother intercepts all letters from the school before Dad sees them."

"Lucky!" Liam exclaimed through a mouthful of food. "My dad knows I had detention for the whole Potions exam thing! My brother is too much of a goody-two-shoes to do that for me."

"You guys have brothers?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, my brother Mark," Liam said. "He's 24."

"And I have three older brothers. Jake, Danny, and Colin. Jake is 19, Danny is 22, and Colin is 28. Danny's the one who hides my letters."

Lily laughed once. "Why have you never mentioned your families before?" She wondered.

"Ayla knew, didn't you?" Liam asked, awkwardly avoiding eye contact with her.

"Y-yeah, you told me about Mark and I think you mentioned Brad's brothers a few times to me," she answered shyly. Natasha arrived and kissed Brad, sitting down next to him as they continued their conversation.

"Mark and Danny used to be best friends when we were little," Brad told them. "They were friends before we were born and that's sort of how we got to know each other."

"I did not know that," Lily said in surprise and Liam shrugged lightly, looking directly at Ayla.

"Everyone has their family stories," he said simply. Ayla nodded once at him, slightly uncomfortable.

"Yeah, Ayla, why don't you share yours?" Natasha interjected.

"That's not what I-" Liam stammered.

"Well, if everyone's sharing, then why not Ayla?" Natasha suggested with a smirk.

Ayla gave her a warning glare and Natasha shot her a fake smile.

"I'll give mine!" Albus interjected to spare Ayla.

"You can go next," Natasha said dismissively. "I really want to hear Ayla's."

"Uh, it's really not that interesting. My parents are never really around," she said simply. Not totally a lie, she told herself.

"Anyway," Albus said, trying desperately to change the subject. "Brad, you should just take History of Magic this summer. If you take it during the year, you'll never get caught up until you have to give up free period to make up a class, and you probably don't want that. Just take it this summer; it's only six weeks."

Brad nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, I think I will. Serves me right, I guess," he said with a shrug.

"Besides," Lily contributed, staring at the teachers' table. "You wouldn't want to miss a class like arithmancy. Professor Ackerley is so good-looking."

Ayla laughed. "Ew, Lily, he could be your father!" She exclaimed, giggling.

"Not that you would have a problem with that, right, Ayla?" Natasha sneered.

"That just crossed the line!" Ayla roared, slamming down her fork. The wood of the table splintered under Albus's grip. James, Lily, Hugo, and Brad looked confused.

Natasha smirked at Ayla. "Hey, I'm just calling it like it is."

Ayla stood up and dashed out of the Great Hall, fighting her tears as she went. She had almost reached the common room when Albus caught up with her.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," he said softly, hugging her. She sobbed into his chest, her shoulders trembling. She pulled back after a moment and looked up at him through her tears.

"I hate her!" She cried. "How could she say that? What my father did to me...it wasn't my fault! I couldn't do anything to stop him! And now they're all going to know what happened because Natasha's probably telling them right now! James, Lily, Brad, and Hugo don't know any of it! And Liam knows part of it, he knows I was physically abused by my father but he doesn't know that my father m-" Ayla took several deep, shaky, frantic breaths, not finishing her sentence. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall, trying to calm herself down.

"Ayla," came James's voice.

Ayla opened swollen, tear-filled eyes and looked at him. Albus put his arm around her comfortingly as though he knew what James was going to say.

"Why didn't you tell us?" James asked, his voice breaking.

"W-why didn't I tell you what?" Ayla asked shakily, denial washing over her.

"That your father was in prison for physically and sexually abusing you."

Albus tightened his arm around Ayla as she turned to sob into his shoulder.

James stood helplessly behind her and Albus shot him a pleading look.

"James, just go," Albus begged. "Just get out of here, James, now!"

James looked pityingly and Ayla before running away down the steps. Natasha ascended the steps, passing by James and pausing in front of Ayla and Albus. She smirked and Ayla whirled out of Albus's arms, grabbing Natasha's arm.

"Natasha, what the hell is wrong with you? Why would you tell them that?" She bellowed.

"Don't ask me. Ask your ex-boyfriend."

"What? Natasha, that's not even possible. Liam didn't even know all of that; he-"

Natasha held up her hands. "I don't know, but he's the one who told them, okay? Not me." Natasha backed away, glaring at Ayla.

Ayla glanced at Albus and fled down the steps back toward the Great Hall with Albus behind her, begging her to wait. Ayla caught Liam as he was leaving the Great Hall.

"Ayla, before you say anything, I-"

"I just want to know why," Ayla pleaded weakly, her anger fading into despair.

"I-I don't know why I did it, Ayla. I wish I hadn't, okay? I-I'm sorry, I just panicked. I was pissed at you for being with Al and I just-"

"So you decided to ruin my life?" Ayla demanded angrily.

"I didn't ruin your life. Your father did."

"How did you even know that stuff? All I told you was that he hit me," Ayla asked tiredly, just wanting to know the answers.

"I figured it out; I don't know. I know you better than you think I do, Ayla."

Albus shook his head, looking away. "Man, don't try to pull that," he said quietly.

Liam sighed. "Ayla, I am so sorry; I assumed that Lily knew anyway, and maybe she had told James and then-"

"No!" Ayla cut in. "Lily didn't know, and even if she had, she never would have told anybody because she's a good friend and she actually cares about me, and-"

"Ayla, I do care about you," Liam promised, reaching for her hand.

"Don't touch me," she hissed, yanking her hand away.

"Ayla-" he began, grabbing her shoulders.

"She told you not to touch her!" Albus bellowed, jumping in front of Ayla.

"Fine," Liam managed in a whisper, brushing past him and walking away.

Ayla let out a sob and looked up at Albus.

"Are those train tickets you bought refundable?"

"Yeah," he said gently. "You don't want to go anymore?"

"No, I do. I want to leave tonight. I've got to get out of here, now," she said frantically.

Albus nodded. "Go grab your stuff. I'll call the station and see if we can make the last train out tonight."

Ayla ran to her dormitory and slammed her suitcase onto her bed, her tears splashing onto her clothes as she roughly threw them into the suitcase.

"Ayla!" Lily cried, running into the dormitory. "Ayla, I'm so sorry, I had no idea!"

"Don't worry, Lily," she said exhaustedly. "I'm getting out of here; I'll be back at the end of the weekend."

"Ayla, if I had known, I would have stopped Liam from saying anything, and-"

Ayla put her hand on Lily's shoulder and smiled strongly. "I know you would."

"I'll see you in a couple of days," Lily said and Ayla gave her another sad smile as she pulled her suitcase out of the dormitory to meet Albus.

**Please review! I'd really appreciate the feedback! **


	27. Chapter 27

Ayla gazed out the window of the train, resting under Albus's arm. Her eyes were tired and dried out from crying.

"My mom and dad are getting home sometime in the middle of the night from vacation in France," Albus told her. "They're not expecting us until tomorrow, so they won't be able to pick us up at the train station. We'll have to stay in the Leaky Cauldron."

"Okay," Ayla agreed quietly.

Albus's mind filled with the idea of staying in a hotel with Ayla and he clenched his teeth and forced the wonderful thought out of his mind.

"Thank you, Albus," Ayla said softly and he leaned forward to look at her. "Thank you for getting me out of there. And for everything."

"Anytime, Ayla, and I'm so sorry about what happened. I love you, Ayla."

"I love you too, Albus." She twisted around and kissed him. "I really love you," she whispered, kissing him again.

The train came to a slow stop and Albus grabbed Ayla's trunk for her from the shelf above them, then dragged down his own. They disembarked the train and headed for the leaky cauldron, which was not far from King's Cross Station.

They reached the lobby and Albus requested a room. The man at the front desk handed them a on old-looking silver key that had the number 428 inscribed on it. Albus thanked him and they headed up the stairs with their bags and walked down a long hall until they found room 428.

Albus opened the door and the two of them entered the room to see the door to the bathroom, a small desk with a swivel chair, and one bed. Ayla set her bags down and looked around awkwardly.

"Look, if you're not comfortable, I..." Albus began but Ayla shook her head.

"It's fine," she assured him. She grabbed her pajamas and a small bag from her trunk that held her toiletries and entered the bathroom. She turned to face the mirror and looked at her swollen eyes. She washed her face, the cold water feeling refreshing. She quickly brushed her teeth and changed into her pajamas; plaid pajama shorts and a tank top. Ayla closed the bathroom door behind her and climbed into bed. Albus walked into the bathroom next and Ayla could hear the water running as he brushed his teeth. He returned a few moments later wearing pajama pants and no shirt and climbed into bed next to her, careful to stay a few inches away to not make her uncomfortable. She moved closer to him and rested her head on his chest and he smiled in relief, putting his arm around her.

Albus nearly fainted with shock and pleasure when Ayla gently kissed his neck. She moved her lips to his and he kissed her until he was way too into it to stop. Ayla finally pulled back and Albus looked at her desperately as she rolled off of him.

"I'm sorry," Albus apologized, panting.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Ayla assured him, equally out of breath.

"I shouldn't have been thinking like that; you've just turned twelve and I'm only thirteen." He breathed heavily and stood up. "Just give me a minute."

He turned away and walked toward the window, still panting. Ayla admired the view of his shirtless torso from behind.

"You turn fourteen this weekend," Ayla said several minutes later from the bed and he turned and grinned at her.

"I know," he laughed. Let's see, my birthday is March 12th, and your birthday is January 28th..." He said, sitting down in front her and taking her hand. "Which means I am 1 year, 10 months, and 16 days older than you."

"Wow, those sixteen days really make a difference," Ayla teased.

"Hey, I like to be exact about these things," Albus laughed, sliding under the covers. "Get some sleep, baby, you look tired," he said, kissing her cheek. She rolled onto her side, facing him, and closed her eyes. Albus gazed at her as the moonlight shone through the window and illuminated her face.

When she rolled over to face the other way in her sleep, Albus moved closer and draped his arm over her. She intertwined her hand with his and he rested his head against hers as they slept.

X.

Ayla and Albus stood at the train station waiting for Harry and Ginny.

"Sorry we had to come all the way back here," Albus said to Ayla. "But there wasn't enough time to send them an owl to ask them to pick us up at the hotel instead."

"Don't worry about it," she assured him. "I got to spend more time with you, anyway," she said cutely, knowing it sounded corny.

He kissed her and pulled back, leaving his hands on her waist. "You look nervous."

"No, I just...okay, yeah, a little."

"Don't worry, they're not that bad. And they'll like you," he said reassuringly.

"Do they know...about me?" Ayla asked. "My past, I mean."

"No, I haven't told them. Did you want me to?" Albus asked. "I will if you want them to know."

"No, it's fine. I wanted to make sure because people tend to expect different things of me based on whether or not they know."

Albus put his arm around her and kissed the side of her head. "Oh, there they are!" He exclaimed, pointing to a man with black hair and glasses whose facial features matched Albus's exactly, and a woman with flaming red hair who strongly resembled Lily.

Albus waved to them and they looked excited as they walked over.

"Hi, honey!" Albus's mother greeted him, kissing his cheek.

"Hey, son, how are you?" His father hugged him tightly.

"Mom, Dad, this is Ayla," Albus said, his hand resting reassuringly on the small of Ayla's back.

"Hi, it's so nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Potter," Ayla said sweetly as she shook hands with both of them.

"It's great to meet you too, Ayla. And please, I'm Ginny and this is Harry."

"Thank you _so _much for letting me stay with you; I really appreciate it."

"Oh, anytime!" Ginny exclaimed. "We've both heard so much about you from all three of our children."

Ayla beamed and followed Harry and Ginny to the portkey they had used. Ayla looked at the goblet lying in the grass and instantly remembered a book she had read on portkeys. She laid one hand on it, praying she wouldn't make a mistake and embarrass herself in front of Albus's parents.

She closed her eyes as she felt like she was spinning and finally opened them when the spinning stopped. She found herself standing on her feet on the ground and breathed a sigh of relief.

She looked around to see that they were standing in front of a large building that looked to consist of condominiums or townhouses. Ayla watched in awe as number 11 and 13 began to spread apart and reveal a number 12 on the front of a building that was otherwise only odd numbers.

Albus grinned at her as he waited for her reaction.

"Oh, my gosh, this place is amazing," Ayla breathed, stepping inside and looking around.

"Our family will be here in about an hour and a half for a family dinner," Harry told Ayla.

"Oh, I don't want to intrude; if it's a family thing, then I can leave for a few hours," Ayla offered politely.

Harry laughed. "No, that's not what I meant," he assured her. "Everyone is coming over so that they can meet you."

"Oh," Ayla understood. "Okay, thanks."

"Do you want to go for a walk while we wait?" Albus suggested.

"Sure!" Ayla agreed.

"We'll see you guys later," Albus said over his shoulder.

"Have fun," Ginny called. "Be back by six."

"We will." Albus closed the door behind him and took Ayla's hand.

"So, this is a muggle town, right?" Ayla asked a few minutes later as they strolled through a park.

"Yeah, even the building my parents live in is a muggle building except for them."

"That house is amazing; it just seems so fun and...family-ish."

Albus nodded, a sentimental smile on his face. "It was a great place to grow up. What about your house?" He asked, giving her hand a squeeze.

Ayla pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket-much to Albus's amazement-and scrolled through pictures on her phone in search of a photograph of her house.

"They're not moving," Albus said, poking the screen. "The pictures."

"They're muggle pictures, babe," she told him. "They're not supposed to move."

Albus snorted. "Muggles," he muttered, shaking his head.

"Oh, here, I found one." She handed him the phone and his eyes popped.

"Oh, my god, this is gigantic!" He handed her the phone and looked at her in awe. "Wow, money _really _doesn't buy happiness, huh?"

"I'm happy," she argued softly. "Right now."

"Even after...what happened at school yesterday?"

"Well, I'm not happy when I really think about it, but right now...all I'm thinking about is you."

Albus smiled and kissed her. She locked her hands behind his neck and kissed him back.

"You want to do something _really _fun?" Ayla asked, looking up at him and biting her lip.

"What do you have in mind?" He asked curiously.

"How long do we have?" Ayla asked, thinking.

Albus glanced at his watch. "Oh, damn!" He hissed. "It's ten till six!"

"Crap! How far of a walk are we from your house?"

"Twenty minutes!" Albus exclaimed, panicking.

Ayla grabbed his hand and dashed into the street between the cars that were stopped at a red light.

"Ayla, what are you doing?" Albus called as they ran.

Ayla leapt agilely into the bed of a pickup truck and ushered for Albus to follow.

"Hurry, before the light changes!"

Albus saw the light turn to green and he groaned helplessly, jumping up next to Ayla.

"Okay, now lay down," Ayla whispered, flattening herself down to stay out of sight of the driver. Albus followed her lead.

"Where the hell did you learn to do this?" He demanded.

"I had to get to school somehow when I was a kid," she said simply. "Tell me when we're at the closest red light to your house."

"Doesn't this freak you out?" Albus demanded.

Ayla shrugged. "This was my only way of getting around before my mom hired a driver. I had to go to school but my mother was never around and my father obviously wouldn't drive me."

She peered over the edge of the truck, not noticing that Albus was staring at her in amazement.

"Are we getting close?" She asked.

"Yeah, this next light is right next to my street."

The driver of the truck slowly stopped at the red light and Ayla scrambled to her feet, leaping off of the truck and pulling Albus with her, barreling down the street. Albus looked back to see that the driver was sticking his head out the window to see what had happened. The light switched to green and the other cars began honking at him. He threw his hands up and reluctantly drove away.

"Come on!" Ayla cried, grabbing his hand as they sprinted back to his house. They reached the front door and Albus let out a loud breath.

"Wow, you're fast," he panted, checking his watch. "5:59. We made it," he breathed, hand over his rapidly beating heart. He wiped sweat from his brow and opened the door for Ayla.

Ayla entered the kitchen with Albus to see an enormous family, spread out amongst the kitchen, living room, and dining room, talking socially.

A few people turned when they walked in and one woman with bushy brown hair walked over to greet them.

"Hi, are you Ayla? It's great to meet you; I'm Hermione."

"Hugo and Rose's mom," Albus clarified.

"Hi, it's so nice to meet you!" Ayla exclaimed, shaking her hand.

"Hold on one moment; I'll introduce you to my husband." She looked around and spotted a tall red-haired man at the kitchen table. "Ron!" She called. "Come meet Ayla!"

The man wiped his hands on his jacket, earning a disapproving look from his wife, and walked over.

"Hi, I'm Ron," he introduced himself, shaking her hand firmly. "Hugo, Lily, James, and Albus have told me a lot about you; it's nice to finally meet you."

"You too, sir," Ayla returned politely and Ron burst into laughter.

"Please, call me Ron."

She nodded obediently and smiled at him.

"I'll introduce you to some more people," Albus announced, pulling her gently away. He approached a man with longer hair and scars over his face and a beautiful blonde woman. "Ayla, this is my Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur. You guys, this is Ayla."

"So nice to meet you," the woman said in a heavy French accent.

"You as well," Ayla returned kindly.

"Hi, I'm Bill," Bill greeted her, extending his hand.

"Well, I'm taking her around and introducing her to everyone, so I'll talk to you guys at dinner," Albus said to his Aunt and Uncle, who smiled at him and moved on to talk to Ron and Hermione. "Oh, Ayla, I've got to introduce you to Uncle Charlie. He's the best."

They walked towards the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room, where three people stood talking. One was an adult with dark red hair, wearing a loose green plaid shirt, one was an attractive man who looked to be in his twenties, and the other was a gorgeous blonde girl who looked to be just a few years younger than the man she stood with.

"Hey, guys. Ayla, this is my Uncle Charlie," Albus said, gesturing to the man in the green shirt, "and this is Teddy and Victoire." Ayla shook hands with all of them, smiling hugely. "Victoire is Dominique and Louis's older sister, if you remember them, and also Bill and Fleur's oldest daughter. And Teddy is Harry's Godson-but more like my brother-and Victoire's boyfriend."

"It's great to meet you, Ayla," Teddy exclaimed sincerely. "I'm sure you've heard this too many times, but I've heard so many great things about you."

"Thank you, that's great to hear," Ayla said genuinely, smiling at Albus.

"Hey, Tedster, have you seen George?" Albus asked, his hand on his godbrother's shoulder.

Teddy looked around. "Hmm...he's probably snuck off somewhere by now," he said with a laugh.

Albus chucked. "Alright, I'll find him. See you later, Ted."

"I'll see you, buddy," Teddy returned, turning back to Charlie and Victoire as Ayla and Albus walked away.

"Alright!" Ginny called. "Everyone sit down for dinner!"

They all filed into the dining room. Ayla sat somewhere near the middle of the long table, on the left side of the room. Albus sat to her right, Teddy to her left.

"Everything looks delicious; thank you so much for dinner," Ayla said to Ginny as she sat down.

"Oh, please, we're glad to have you joining us," Ginny said airily.

Once everyone had filled their plates with food, Harry began the conversation.

"So, Ayla, tell us about your parents," he requested, buttering a piece of bread.

"Um, they're both muggles," Ayla responded, taking a bite of her turkey.

"Oh, I was asking about them personally," Harry clarified.

"Oh, my mom is a single mom now."

"And your father?" An elderly woman with graying red hair asked from down the table.

"_Grandmother_," Albus warned tersely.

"Oh, he's...he's incarcerated."

The table fell silent and all eyes turned to her. She blushed and looked down.

"I have _no _idea what that means," Ron declared, earning sighs of annoyance from Hermione and another man down the table with short hair and glasses.

"It means he's in prison, Ronald," Hermione explained irritably.

"_Oh_," Ron mused, thinking deeply. "That's _awesome._"

Hermione smacked his arm scoldingly.

"So, what does your mother do for a living?" Harry inquired next, taking a sip of his drink.

"She's still on a career chase; she hasn't quite figured out what she wants to do with her life."

"Isn't she an adult?" Harry asked with a laugh and Albus dropped his fork.

"Dad!" He exclaimed in a hushed tone and Harry turned to look at him. "Seriously?" Albus mouthed and Harry looked at him innocently.

"It's fine," Ayla assured Albus. She turned back to Harry. "In answer to your question, she was a young mother, and she never really got to have all of the life experiences that she would have wanted because she had to take care of me."

"But now she's trying to have those experiences again?" Harry clarified curiously. Albus's fist clenched tensely under the table and Ayla laid her hand on his to calm him down.

"Yes, she stayed around for a little while when I was younger but she resented me for being the reason she had to let go of her dreams. She had a modeling career when I was a toddler and now she's trying to become a designer."

Trying to ease the discomfort in the room, Ginny attempted to bring the subject to a close. "Well, we would love to meet her sometime, Ayla."

Ayla smiled at her in thanks.

"So, you said you're muggle born, correct?" A man who was presumably Albus's grandfather asked, as he was sitting next to the woman who Albus had called Grandmother.

"Yes, sir," Ayla replied.

"Fascinating!" He exclaimed enthusiastically. "I love muggles! Do you...do you have a telephone?"

"Um, yeah." Ayla pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and passed it across the table.

"My Grandpa Arthur," Albus muttered to Ayla, seeming humiliated.

"Al, it's fine," she assured him quietly.

"Do you have a _car_?" Arthur demanded next.

"Well, um, _I _don't yet because I'm not old enough to drive, but there are cars at my house."

"Amazing," Arthur enthused, passing Ayla's phone back to her.

"I have a car," Teddy declared, sensing the embarrassment Albus was feeling at having his family put Ayla in the spotlight.

"Really?" Ayla asked, seeming genuinely interested.

"I'm an auror so I have to disguise myself as a muggle sometimes," he explained. "The more muggle habits I can conform to, the better."

Before Ayla could respond, Harry continued his questioning.

"You said _cars_, plural. If it's just you and your mother, why do you need so many cars?"

"Dad! How about we stop giving her the third degree?" Albus hissed.

"No, it's okay. Um, my father really liked cars and he had a lot, and my mom...likes to buy cars. I don't know why; she just has a car fetish, I guess. My driver has several cars as well," she added quietly.

The expressions on everyone's faces required no vocal component; their reactions were crystal clear.

Before anyone could say anything offensive, Teddy stood up. "Victoire and I are going to take Albus and Ayla for a ride in our car," he announced, pulling out Victorie's chair for her and grabbing Albus's arm.

"Make sure you're back in time for dessert," Ginny called.

"Sure," Teddy called back, holding open the door for the other three.

"Thank you so much for dinner; it was delicious," Ayla thanked Ginny, who nodded with a smile.

Ayla followed Albus down the driveway where a small silver car was parked.

"I am _so _sorry, they're not usually like that!" Albus apologized, taking Ayla's hands.

"It's fine, Albus, really," Ayla said sincerely.

"No, it's not," Albus groaned, looking mortified. He covered his face with his hands in humiliation and Ayla gently pulled them down.

"Really, don't worry about it," she promised, and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks, Ted," Albus thanked his godbrother.

"I figured I'd get you out of there; sorry, Ayla."

"Our family is _crazy_," Albus said in humiliation.

"It's completely fine. Crazy's better than nothing," Ayla said brightly.

"I guess I got lucky," Victoire mused, wrapping her arm around Teddy's waist and looking in his eyes. "My boyfriend grew up with my family." They both smiled and kissed.

"So, do you actually want to go for a ride?" Teddy asked. "We don't have to; I just wanted to get you two out of there before Al started having convulsions," he joked and everyone laughed.

"You won't believe what Ayla showed me today," Albus told Teddy as they got in the car, Teddy and Victoire in the front, Albus and Ayla in the back. "She hitched a ride in a truck without the driver noticing."

Teddy met Ayla's eyes in the rearview mirror. "Is that even possible?"

"You have to lay in the bed of a pickup truck and jump off at a red light. Or, you know, if the truck is going slow and there are no other cars around you. " she looked around at everyone in the car and bit her lip. "You probably all think I'm, like, a criminal now. But I'm not. There was no one around to drive me to school but I would get...in trouble...with my father if I didn't go. So I had to find a way to get there. And there were no taxis or bus stops in my town."

"Did you go to muggle school growing up?" Victoire asked.

"Yeah, I went to a school that was about a 30 minute drive from my house, so I couldn't walk all that way."

"Did you ever get caught?" Victoire demanded.

"Once," Ayla answered, looking deep in thought. "I mean, it happens all the time that the driver sees me when I jump off but then I just run away. But the driver caught me once and he was about to call the police."

"How'd you get him to stop?" Teddy asked curiously. He pulled off into a parking lot and pulled the keys out of the ignition, realizing that they truly weren't going anywhere.

"I bribed him and begged him not to," she said simply, earning a laugh from everyone. She looked at the clock on her cell phone. "We should probably head back."

"Yeah, probably," Teddy sighed, putting the car in reverse and backing out of the parking lot. "Back to the interrogation," he joked a few minutes later as they pulled up in front of the house.

The four of them entered the house again, where everyone was mingling as they were when Albus and Ayla arrived.

"Okay, if you're okay, I can introduce you to some of my other uncles that didn't really talk during dinner," Albus suggested to Ayla.

"More uncles!" Ayla exclaimed excitedly and Albus laughed incredulously, putting his arm around her and guiding her to the other side of the room, where a man with glasses was standing with a pretty woman with blonde-ish brown curly hair. Ayla recognized the man as the one who had been annoyed with Ron alongside Hermione at dinner.

"Hey, Uncle Percy," Albus greeted him and the man looked instantly annoyed. "I wanted to introduce you to Ayla."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," Ayla said kindly, smiling at him. Percy has no reaction whatsoever, and Albus shot him a look.

"Uh, and this is Percy's wife, Audrey," Albus said awkwardly when he noticed Percy's lack of manners.

"Hi, Ayla," Audrey greeted her, shaking her hand.

"Um, Percy, Ayla has the highest grades in her year," Albus announced and Percy looked at her.

"Well, why didn't you say so?" He snapped at Albus, then turned to Ayla. "Don't you find arithmancy just _fascinating_?"

"I actually haven't had it yet, but I am _so _looking forward to it," Ayla replied and Albus exhaled in relief.

"What year are you in?" He asked, seeming disturbed that she had not taken arithmancy.

"First year, Percy, I told you this before," Albus said tiredly.

"Oh," Percy realized. "Well, you're at the top of your class _now_, but first year is easy. Wait until you get into the real stuff." With that, he turned back to his wife.

Ayla frowned slightly, but quickly calmed Albus down before he yelled at Percy.

"It's okay, Al, don't worry about it," she assured him, grabbing his hands.

"No, it's not, he just-"

"How did you know I was number one in my class? Is that true?"

"I, uh...I stole the ranking list from McGonagall's office," Albus admitted. "I can show you later. After I have it out with Percy."

"Really, don't worry about it, please don't. Can you introduce me to more of your family?" She pleaded, her wide eyes making him give in.

"Alright, come on." He grabbed her hand and they walked into the kitchen, where a man was pouring a glass of fire whiskey. "Hey, Uncle George," Albus greeted him, grinning.

"Al!" George exclaimed, putting his arm around his nephew. "How's it hanging?" George was tall and skinny, with bright red hair like many of his siblings, and was missing one ear. Ayla quickly made sure not to let her eyes linger on the scar where his ear would be.

"I wanted you to meet Ayla," Albus told him and George dropped his arm. "Ayla, this is my Uncle George. He's Fred and Roxanne's dad."

"Oh, Roxanne is in some of my classes; she's so sweet," Ayla told him and he smiled warmly. "It's great to meet you."

"If you ever wonder where James and I get our inspiration for pranking," Albus began, clapping his hand on his uncle's shoulder, "this is the guy."

George laughed, missing Albus's hair. "I'm glad to hear it," he laughed.

"Oh, my god, they are _hysterical_," Ayla agreed.

"Here, let me introduce you to my wife," George excused himself, letting go of Albus and leaving to find her.

Albus turned to Ayla, looking nervous. "What do you think so far?"

"I _love _your family!" She exclaimed happily.

"Even when they interrogate you at dinner?" Albus questioned, seeming skeptical.

"Even when they interrogate me at dinner," Ayla laughed. "It's a good thing; they were just showing that they care. Everyone here is so great!"

Before Albus could reply, George returned with a beautiful dark-skinned woman with long black hair.

"This is Angelina," George announced. "And this is Albus's girlfriend, Ayla."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," Ayla said sweetly, shaking her hand.

"You too," Angelina returned kindly. "This may sound strange, but you have _really_beautiful eyes."

"Thank you so much!" Ayla said genuinely, seeming thrilled. Albus gazed at her and wondered how on earth she did not already know that.

"They're really dark but they have a violet tint to them. It's amazing, really," Angelina continued. "I've heard of people with violet eyes but I've heard that it was linked to albinism."

"Angelina is a doctor," George declared in explanation for her knowledge. "She works at St. Mungo's."

"I've heard that, too," Ayla replied to Angelina. "But neither of my parents are afflicted with it."

"Hmm..." Angelina mused. "That's incredible, though."

"Thank you," Ayla said again, seeming truly flattered.

"It's nice to know that Albus found someone with eyes beautiful enough to match his own," Angelina said, missing Albus's hair gently. He blushed and looked down.

"Oh, no, we're not talking about Al's eyes again, are we?" Teddy teased, approaching them and slinging his arm around Albus. "My eyes are pretty fun too," he declared, leaning down to eye level with Albus. He opened his eyes wide and his irises flickered through a series of colors.

"Ted's a metamorphmagus," Albus explained and Ayla looked amazed.

Teddy winked and began changing his hair color as well.

"That's so cool!" Ayla exclaimed.

"Thanks," Teddy said with a grin, straightening up as Albus shoved him playfully in the head.

"Alright, everyone come in for dessert!" Ginny announced and everyone took their places at the dining room table where Ginny passed out plates of cheesecake.

Albus waited nervously, unsure of whether or not his family would continue their questioning.

"So, Ayla," Harry began and Albus groaned. "Calm down, Albus," Harry said to his middle son. "I wanted to apologize for our behavior earlier. I realize that the questions we asked you were inappropriate and not at all our business, so I'm sorry."

"Oh, really, don't worry about it," Ayla assured him dismissively. "Honestly, it didn't bother me in the least."

Harry smiled in thanks and dug in to his cheesecake.

Once they had finished dessert, they returned to their casual conversation. Ayla and Albus spoke to George and Teddy in the kitchen, reliving stories from Al's childhood.

"James and Albus used to pull pranks on us all the time and then blame them on each other," George told Ayla.

"That's not nearly as bad as Teddy, who used to pull pranks and them _morph himself _into one of the other members of the family to blame it on them!" Albus protested and Ayla laughed.

"Hey, you can criticize all you want, but it worked!" Teddy returned and Albus shot him a fake scowl.

Victoire approached them and grabbed Teddy's arm, standing on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. She looked upset and Teddy's facial expression softened as he listened to her.

"Okay, come on," he whispered to her. "We're going to head out; we'll see you tomorrow."

"You're all coming back tomorrow for Al's birthday?" Ayla asked hopefully. "Yay!"

"It was great meeting you, Ayla," Teddy said sincerely. Victoire smiled warmly at Ayla but she still looked upset.

"It was great meeting you, too. I'll see you tomorrow." Teddy put his arm around Victoire and they left.

"Uh-oh, Ange is giving me the look," George joked under his breath. "I should go too."

He shook hands with Ayla and messed up Albus's hair again before crossing the room. He helped Angelina into her jacket and waved as he left.

Once everyone had left, Harry and Ginny walked back in, Harry's arm around Ginny's waist.

"Ayla, would you like us to show you where everything is?" Ginny offered.

"I can do it," Albus dismissed them.

"Alright. Goodnight, you two," Ginny said, kissing Albus on the cheek and walking up the stairs.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," Harry said, giving Albus a brief hug before heading upstairs as well.

"Alright, are your bags in the foyer?" Albus asked and Ayla nodded. Al walked int the foyer and picked up her bags, leading Ayla upstairs as she offered to take the bags. "I've got it; don't worry," he assured her, setting them down in the room at the top of the stairs to the left. "This is Lily's room," Albus explained. "My room is the one next to it; the bathroom connects the two. So, do you need anything?"

"I think I'm good," she said, smiling at him. "Albus, your family is _amazing_."

Al laughed, putting his hands in his pockets. "That's one word for them."

"Seriously, Al, I love your family."

"_I'm _part of my family," he teased, resting his hands on her waist. Ayla locked her hands behind his neck.

"I know, and I love you, too." She kissed him and pulled back, looking up at his eyes. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was midnight. "Happy birthday, Albus. I love you."

**Please review! And I know that scene with Ayla's eyes may have seemed random, but believe me, it will come into play later in the story! **


	28. Chapter 28

On the morning of Al's birthday, Ayla knocked on the bathroom door that connected Lily's room to Albus's, making sure that it was empty. She had woken up early and showered before Albus was awake, but she needed to finish the rest of her morning routine.

"Come in," Albus called and Ayla opened the door slowly, seeing Albus standing at the sink brushing his teeth, wearing sweatpants with no shirt.

"Happy birthday!" Ayla exclaimed, hugging him tightly.

"Thanks, baby," he said, kissing her. He laid his hands on her waist and she perched on the edge of the sink as he kissed her. "I love you," he whispered in her ear and she hopped down from the sink, grinning up at him.

"I love you, too." She reached behind her and held up the toothbrush he had been using. He laughed and resumed his morning routine. Ayla giggled and stepped around him, grabbing her own toothbrush from the countertop. As she rinsed her toothbrush, Albus grabbed her waist from behind and lifted her up, spinning her around.

Ayla threw her head back and laughed loudly. "Put me down!" She shrieked through her fit of giggles. Albus laughed, swinging her onto his back and spinning around some more. Ayla finally hopped down, sitting on the sink again and spinning him around to face her. She ruffled his hair and looked at him fondly.

"You're cute with bed head," she told him, her hand lingering in his hair.

"You're cute with _everything_," Albus said, standing close to her. Ayla laughed and kissed him again.

"Alright, I've got to shower," Albus said reluctantly and Ayla slid off the sink, kissing him once more.

"I'll see you later, birthday boy." She smiled at him as she left and closed the door behind her. Ayla exhaled heavily, leaning back against the door and running a hand through her hair, trying to cope with all of the emotions flooding through her. She was happier with Albus than she had ever felt in her entire life. Every moment she spent with him, she felt a piece of her terrible past fading away. She dressed in the blue and white sundress that she had packed with her and smoothed her dark hair. She heard a knock at the door from the bathroom and opened it to see Albus, his hair glistening with water and the irresistible grin plastered on his face, wearing jeans and a plaid shirt. Ayla gripped his shirt and pulled him close to her, crossing through the doorway back into the room she was staying in and kissing him. Albus gently held her face in his hands and kissed her more passionately. She leaned back against the wall and Albus laid one hand on her waist and one on the wall behind her, his lips crushed against hers. Ayla rested her hands on his chest and kissed him back until they were both gasping for breath. There was a knock at the door and Albus cursed and pulled back, clearing his throat and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Come in," Albus called gruffly and Ayla gasped.

"Now they'll know you're in here!" Ayla whispered in panic.

The door opened and Teddy walked in, smirking and holding up his hands.

"I already know he's in here," Teddy said, imitating Ayla's whisper with a broad grin. She laughed and he dropped his hands. "But just so you know, these walls," he began, knocking his knuckles against the wall to his left, "are not exactly sound-proof."

Ayla blushed furiously and Albus put his arm around her assuringly. "It's fine, it's just Teddy."

Teddy laughed. "I'm just messing with you guys. But I just came in to say Happy Birthday."

"Thanks, Ted. Is anyone else here yet?"

"Uh, no, just Victoire and me. Everyone else should be here soon, though, so if you've finished..."

"We were just heading downstairs," Albus said, looking at Ayla. Teddy held open the door and Ayla walked out, followed by Albus. Teddy slapped Al's back on his back and closed the door behind them as he followed Albus and Ayla downstairs.

Excitement hit Ayla as she anticipated Albus's reaction when he opened her present later.

"There's the birthday boy!" Ginny exclaimed, hugging Albus tightly. Harry followed, clapping his son on the back.

"Oh, Ayla, we have a birthday tradition in our family that I should tell you about," Harry began and Albus groaned.

"No, Dad, that is _so _lame," he protested, dropping his head into his hands.

"We have a big family brunch in late morning, and then we all change into our pajamas when the birthday kid opens presents," Harry explained.

Albus looked down, blushing in embarrassment.

"Aw, that's adorable!" Ayla exclaimed. "I love family traditions; that's so cute!"

"We think so too," Ginny said happily. "Teddy, could you help me set the table?"

"Sure thing," he said, reaching behind him and grabbing the stack of plates that Ginny had set out and walking into the dining room. When he returned to grab the forks from a drawer below the counter, he looked up at Ayla. "My grandmother will be here today," he said as he counted out the forks. "She couldn't come last night but she wants to meet you."

"Teddy's grandma is one of my favorite family members," Albus explained. "Even though we're not related."

"Speaking of, Teddy, we should probably go pick her up," Victoire said, glancing at the clock above the oven.

Teddy glanced at the clock as well. "Oh, shoot! Yeah, we'll be back in a minute," Teddy said, grabbing Victoire's hand and they apparated away.

The clock hit ten o'clock and Albus's family members began apparating in right on time. Within minutes, everyone had arrived. Teddy and Victoire were each gently holding an arm of an elderly woman.

"Ayla, this in Andromeda, my grandmother," Teddy introduced her.

"It is _so _nice to meet you, Dear," Andromeda said kindly, shaking one of Ayla's hands with both of hers. She released Ayla and swatted Teddy's arm playfully.

"Don't say _grandmother_, it makes me sound so old!" She commanded.

Victoire giggled fondly, earning a warm smile from Andromeda.

"Hey, Drommy," Albus said with a grin. Ayla smiled sweetly at the cuteness of his nickname for Teddy's grandmother.

"Albus!" She exclaimed lovingly and gave him a tight hug. "How are you?"

"I'm great; it's good to see you," he returned, seeming truly happy to see her.

"Brunch time!" Ginny called from the dining room.

Ayla sat with Albus on her right and George on her left at the dining room table. Ginny had served them Eggs Benedict for brunch, which was delicious.

"This is fantastic; thank you so much for brunch," Ayla thanked Ginny once everyone had finished.

"Of course, honey," Ginny replied kindly. She stood up to clear the plates and Ayla offered to help; an offer which Ginny quickly declined.

"Alright, everyone brought their pajamas, right?" Harry asked enthusiastically and their was a chorus of _yes_es around the table. "Alright, we've got the bathroom down here and two bathrooms upstairs, plus bedrooms. We'll just have to take turns."

"I can change in Ayla's room," Albus volunteered. "You know, to minimize the time."

Teddy snorted. "How generous of you, Al," he said sarcastically and Albus elbowed him in the ribs.

"Nice try," Harry said to his middle son. "Ayla, you can go up and change first, and we'll send Al up after you come down."

"Dad, come on-" Albus began and Harry shook his head.

Ayla smiled, blushing, and ran up the steps. She changed into purple and white striped pajama pants and a purple tank top, ran a brush through her thick hair, and returned downstairs. Albus shot her an apologetic look as he ascended the steps and she grinned at him.

Once everyone had gathered in the family room in their pajamas, Ayla sat next to Albus on the couch. Albus was wearing blue and grey pajama pants and a grey t-shirt.

He received his present from Harry and Ginny first, which made him jump off of the couch in excitement when Harry brought it in.

It was a beautiful snowy white owl with yellow eyes in a wiry gray cage. Albus beamed at his parents.

"Oh, my god, this is amazing!" He exclaimed.

"She's the same type of owl I had when I was at Hogwarts," Harry explained. "Mine was named Hedwig."

"I think I'll keep the same name," Albus said, sticking his finger in the cage to stroke the owl's feathers. "Thanks, Mom and Dad!"

Albus ended up getting mostly Gryffindor and Quidditch related presents from his family, and opened Ayla's present last. It was a long box wrapped in paper with birthday balloons on it.

The box lay across Albus's, Ayla's, and Teddy's laps as Albus opened it. He tore back the wrapping paper carefully, grinning at Ayla as he did. When he finally got the box open, his jaw dropped. Harry eagerly tried to see what was in the box.

"Oh, my god, Ayla..." Albus breathed, gazing into the box. Teddy's eyes popped as well when he saw what it was.

"Well, what is it?" Percy demanded impatiently.

Albus slowly removed it from the box in awe. "A Firebolt 6000?" He choked out. "But these haven't even been released yet."

"They were released in Sweden," Ayla responded. "I ordered one and had it delivered to me."

"Ayla, this is amazing," Albus breathed. "I-I don't even know what to say."

"That day we played Quidditch, you told me you wanted a new broom," Ayla explained. "I figured if you had a better broom than me, you might actually be able to beat me," she teased, earning a laugh from Al's family.

"Than, you _so _much, Ayla," Albus said sincerely, holding his new broom protectively. "I love it."

"That's extremely generous of you, Ayla, thank you," Harry said politely and Ayla smiled at him.

"Do you want to go test it out?" Ayla offered and Albus raised his eyebrows.

"You have your broom with you?" He asked and Ayla nodded sheepishly.

"I put a undetectable extension charm on my suitcase," she admitted.

"Alright, then let's go!" He exclaimed, jumping up. "You don't mind, right?" Albus asked his mom.

"It's your birthday," she answered simply. "Go and have fun."

Albus grinned and followed Ayla upstairs as she grabbed her broom.

"Don't go inside her bedroom!" Harry called upstairs and Albus groaned in embarrassment.

Ayla retrieved her broom from her suitcase and returned downstairs with Albus.

"What kind of broom do you have, Ayla?" Teddy asked, twisting around to see it.

"Firebolt 5000," she replied. "So now Al's got me beat."

Teddy laughed. "Have fun, kiddo," he said to Al, who nodded at him and held the door open for Ayla.

Albus closed the door behind them and kissed Ayla, taking her breath away. She let go of her broom in surprise and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck as he held her close.

"Thank you," he whispered into her lips.

"Thank _you_," she breathed, feeling almost dizzy from the incredible kiss.

Albus mounted his broom and Ayla did the same as they took off, still wearing their pajamas, and soared above the trees and houses for about thirty minutes before Albus called to Ayla, asking her to land. They ended up in a quiet forest somewhere. Albus set his broom down carefully in a patch of grass and sat down against a tree. Ayla sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Ayla sighed.

"I can't believe we have to head back to Hogwarts tomorrow afternoon. This weekend has been amazing so far. I really needed to get out of there."

Albus kissed the side of her head, tightening his arm around her. "I have to ask...what exactly was it about what Natasha said that got you so upset? Even before Liam told everyone. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was an _awful_ thing to say, but everything she says to you is awful. Normally you just let it go and ignore her, but it affected you a lot more than it usually does."

Ayla sat up, running a hand through her hair and taking a deep breath, trying to figure out how to begin. "Usually, when Natasha says stuff like that, I don't let it get to me because I know that everyone knows it's not true, even her." She inhaled deeply, pausing to get her words together. "I didn't figure out how wrong it was...what my father was doing to me...until I was about seven. But I was young and I didn't understand that he was just a sick, twisted person. So I thought...I thought I must have been doing something wrong; something that would make him do that to me. My father told me repeatedly that I was asking for it; that I wanted it to happen. So I grew up thinking that it was my fault, and I know it's not true, but that's what I grew up thinking, so when Natasha said that to me...it just brought back all of those feelings that I had grown up and I just felt so...vulnerable, so ashamed of myself."

"Ayla, it wasn't your fault, you-" Albus began, shaking his head, tears in his eyes.

"I know that now, but it just...that one comment just brought back all of my fears and insecurities as a kid. It made me think that...what if it was my fault?"

Albus grabbed her shoulders gently and looked deeply into her beautiful, wide eyes. And for the first time, he truly saw all of the sadness, the brokenness that made up the girl that he loved. "Hey, listen to me, Ayla, it is _not _your fault. What he did to you was unforgivable, and there is _nothing _that you did to cause it," he said firmly, his own eyes swimming with tears.

"Thank you," Ayla managed, her voice shaking. She hugged him tightly, his warm arms wrapping around her. She leaned her head against his chest and he smoothed her hair, holding her tightly. _How does he do it? _She wondered. _How does he always know what to say? How does he handle someone as messed up as me? _As he tightened his arms comfortingly around her, the answer dawned on her.

_Because he's perfect. _

X.

Albus stood in front of Harry and Ginny in the dining room after everyone had left. They were each seated on the chairs they had pulled away from the table when he had announced that he needed to talk to them. Ayla was upstairs, supposedly sleeping, but Albus suspected she was laying awake.

"What?" Harry demanded in response to the question Albus had just proposed.

"I wanted to know if Ayla could stay with us over the summer," Albus repeated calmly. Harry and Ginny exchanged a look and Harry leaned forward, folding his hands.

"Look, Albus, I don't think that's a good idea," he said calmly and anger hit Albus.

"Why not?" He demanded. "After you've interrogated her at dinner, I think you've done enough damage; can't you do try to help her out?"

Harry easily matched Albus's rage. "I'm not supplying a place for you to sleep with your girlfriend all summer!"

"What the hell, Dad? That's not why I'm asking!" Albus roared.

"Oh, yeah, right, Albus! I used to be a teenage boy, you know!"

Albus looked at his father with a mix of fury and disgust. "I'm not asking for her to stay here so we can hook up; I'm asking because she needs me, okay? She has _no one_!"

Harry sighed, dropping his voice and resting his elbows on his knees. "Okay, Albus, you grew up with a childhood that most kids your age can only _dream _of. I know Ayla was raised by a single mother who was a little irresponsible, but the truth is, a lot of kids are raised that way. Because you grew up with such an ideal childhood, any home life that is less than perfect seems tragic to you. But children can grow up with one parent and have a perfectly fine life."

Albus shook his head in disbelief. "You think _that's _all that's happened to her?" He breathed deeply and sat down, lowering his voice. "I think she might finally be realizing that her friends at Hogwarts and I are here for her; that she has people who love her. I'm just worried that...if she goes back to her house all alone...she'll lose all the progress she's made."

"Progress?" Ginny repeated, speaking for the first time in the conversation. "What are you talking about?"

"She's still trying to recover from everything that's happened to her," Albus said softly.

"What do you mean, 'everything that's happened to her'?" Harry demanded, raising his voice again.

"Ayla was abused by her father, Dad, and he's in prison now!" Albus bellowed, jumping up again. "And her mother doesn't give a crap about her; she just runs off because she doesn't want to have a kid! And Ayla has grown up being tortured by her own thoughts that it was her fault somehow! Her father told her constantly that she was the one who was asking for it! She's been through hell, Dad, alright? She's broken, Dad," he said, his voice shaking with tears. "I just need her to be okay," he finished, dropping onto his seat and burying his head in his hands, his tears finally falling.

Harry, stunned, stood up and pulled his son to his feet, wrapping his arms tightly around him. "I'm so sorry, Albus. I didn't know. She'll be okay, son. We'll help her, Al, we will."

Albus pulled back, wiping his eyes on his shirt. "I love her, Dad. She's been hurt too many times; I can't let her get hurt again. I just care about her way too much."

Ginny hugged her son next, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so proud of you, Albus. For being there for her through something like that."

"I'm doing the best I can, but I can't change what happened," he said softly. "I wish I could change it for her; I wish I could help her, but the damage is done."

Harry put his hand in his son's back. "Go on and get some sleep, buddy. We'll see you in the morning. I love you, kiddo."

"I love you, Al. Good night," Ginny said, kissing his cheek.

"Love you guys too," Albus said, walking up the steps. He knocked lightly on Ayla's door. She opened it and Albus saw that her face was streaked with tears. "What's wrong?" He demanded, immediately putting his comforting arms around her.

"I heard you talking to your parents," she said, taking his hands. "I've never heard anyone talk about me like that; I've never heard anyone care about me like that before."

Albus hugged her tightly, his own tears splashing down onto her soft hair. Ayla pulled back and stood on her tiptoes, kissing him slowly, enjoying every second of it. He kissed her back, the love for her spreading through him like fire. Al's hands ventured down below Ayla's back and he pulled her towards him until she hopped into his arms, her legs around his waist. She could taste the salt of his tears on his lips as they kissed. Ayla knotted her hands in Albus's shaggy hair and kissed him harder.

"Do you want to go into my room?" Albus asked against her lips as he realized that they were in Lily's bedroom.

"Mm-hmm," Ayla murmured, still kissing him. Albus backed up, through the bathroom and back into his bedroom with Ayla, collapsing onto the bed with her.

"Tell me if you want to stop," Albus said, kissing her neck. She arched her back and pulled Albus's shirt off eagerly.

He gasped as she kissed his chest and she pulled back.

"Are you okay?" She asked, concerned.

"Better than okay," he panted. "But if I keep going, I don't think I'll be able to stop."

Ayla nodded, untangling her legs from his and sliding away to give him space.

"Wow, that was, um..." Albus cleared his throat. "That was amazing."

Ayla gazed at him, yearning for more but knowing she wasn't ready. "Thank you," she said softly and Albus looked confused. "For understanding that I'm not ready to do more than that."

He sat down next to her and took her hand. "I'm in love with you, Ayla. I'd wait 100 years for you if that's what you wanted."

"Really?" Ayla asked softly and Albus nodded, smiling sincerely.

"Really, Ayla."

"We'll, don't worry, it won't be _that _long," she assured him and he laughed, kissing her forehead. Ayla stood up and draped her hair over her left shoulder, a habit that Albus loved.

"Goodnight, Al," she said and he hugged her tightly.

"I love you," he told her.

"I love you, too," she said and he watched her leave.

Albus laid in bed, gazing up at the ceiling and eventually fell asleep thinking about Ayla.

X.

Ayla pressed down on the clothes in her suitcase and folded it shut. Albus zippered it for her from his spot on the bed behind the suitcase.

"This was the _perfect _weekend, Al," Ayla said, sitting down in front of him and leaning back against his chest, his arms gently cradling her waist. "Can't believe we have to go back."

"Ayla, nobody is going to judge you for what happened," he said comfortingly.

"I just don't want them to see me as _the victim _or _that girl who was abused by her father_."

"They won't. They'll see you how they've always seen you. _Ayla, the most amazing, beautiful girl on earth_."

Ayla twisted around and kissed him. "We need to play Quidditch one-on-one again." She tugged gently on his shirt. "Maybe we can play shirts and skins this time."

Albus laughed. "I would've played that way last time if you let me," he teased, fiddling with the ends of her hair. "But, yeah, we definitely need to play. Now that I have my new broom." He kissed her cheek. "Which I _love_, by the way."

"I'm glad," Ayla said, smiling. "When does the Quidditch season start?"

"The team has decided to start training over the summer, but the first game is on the first Friday of the school year. I wish they did it all year round, though. Then again, sitting on a broom for too long all the time tends to hurt a little bit after a while."

There was a knock at the door and Albus opened it. Harry stood in the doorway.

"Are you two ready to head to the train station?" He asked and Ayla glanced at Albus and then nodded. They followed Harry and Ginny outside and took a portkey to the train station.

Ginny kissed Albus on the cheek and hugged him tightly. "I love you, Albus. I'll miss you and please tell your brother and sister that I love and miss them too."

"I will, mum," Albus said, hugging her back.

"Bye, son," Harry said, hugging him as well. "I love you."

Ginny hugged Ayla tightly as well and then held her at arm's length. "It was wonderful to meet you, Ayla. Please come back and visit anytime."

"Thanks, and it was amazing to meet you too. And thank you both so much for letting me stay with you."

"Any time, we mean that," Harry said, shaking her hand and smiling at her. "You two should go; you don't want to miss the train."

"Yeah, we should go." Albus picked up his bag and led Ayla to the train. He turned around on the steps and sent one last wave to his parents before settling into a compartment on the train.

Ayla's cell phone rang shortly after the train departed, amazing Albus yet again.

"Hello?" She answered. Albus looked at her curiously. She glanced at Albus and lowered her voice slightly. "Espera, ¿qué?"

Following a long conversation in rapid Spanish, Ayla hung up the phone, her expression a mix of anger, confusion, and sadness.

"What happened?" Albus asked, concerned.

"My mom has a new guy in her life." Ayla said emotionlessly. She scowled and shoved her phone into her back pocket.

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Albus asked.

"She got married. And she didn't even _tell _me. That was a 'sorry you couldn't come to the wedding' call."

"Wait, why didn't she tell you?" Albus demanded, confused.

Ayla shrugged helplessly. "I guess she doesn't care what I want. I mean, yeah, it's good that she found someone, but...she's my mother. She can't just ignore my calls for six months and then expect me to be excited for her and her husband. I've never even met the guy; they've only known each other for a month. And yet she's expecting a wedding gift from me."

"She asked you for a wedding gift," Albus repeated dully and Ayla nodded, looking angry.

"She said it's common courtesy." Ayla shook her head. "You know what else is common courtesy? Speaking to your daughter." Albus put his arm around her comfortingly. "I'm sorry," Ayla murmured. "I'll shut up about my family."

"Ayla," Albus said, laughing incredulously. "You can talk to me about anything. You know that, right?"

Ayla sighed, leaning into his chest. "Thanks, Al. She wants me to come and visit them next month to meet the guy." She bit her lip and looked down.

"You look scared," Albus noticed and Ayla glanced at him.

"You know me too well," she grumbled playfully, but Albus just looked at her, concern coloring his eyes. Ayla sighed, staring intently out the window for a moment before turning back to Albus. "My mom and I have to meet with social services every so often, just so that they can make sure everything is going well at home." She stood up and paced across the compartment as she continued. "It was scheduled for two weeks from now but that clashes with her honeymoon so she wants me to call social services."

"Well, that's not bad, is it? I'm sure they'll just postpone the meeting," Albus assured her and Ayla shook her head.

"She's already postponed it twice. With me being at Hogwarts, we already have to lie to them all the time, and..." She flopped down helplessly on the seat opposite Albus. "What if they take me away?"

"What do you mean, _take you away_?" Albus asked, confused.

"If they don't think my mom is a responsible enough parent, they could put me into foster care," she said, dropping her head into her hands.

Albus was by her side in an instant, one arm around her and the other hand clasping hers. "Baby, that won't happen! Your mom will fight for you; she won't just let them take you away."

Ayla leaned her head back, letting out a shaky breath. "What if she doesn't, Al? I mean, she never has before. I asked her for help with the trial against my father and she wouldn't do it. I wish I could believe that she'd come through for me, but I just...I can't."

Albus pulled her close and hugged her comfortingly. "Hey, nothing has happened yet. Let's just see how it goes and cross the bridge when we come to it."

Ayla looked up at him, awed. "How is it possible that you always have the perfect thing to say for anything that's happening?"

He gazed deep into her eyes and took her hands. "Because I'm in love with you," he said sincerely and she knew by the look in his eyes that he truly meant it.

**Please review! **


	29. Chapter 29

**Just to clear things up: a few reviews made it seem like you guys thought the story was over, but it's not! Did I do something wrong to publish it or something? But anyway I still have a lot left and sooo many ideas! Also (to Aria) I'm not quite sure how many chapters it will be, but it'll be a long time before it's finished. I've been trying to make the chapters a little longer to help lessen the number of chapters in the end. Oh, and also to Aria: I'm thinking of throwing in a little bit of action and I know exactly what I want to do for it, but it'll just be a little later in the story because it wouldn't quite fit in right now. Thanks for the reviews!**

X.

Ayla stood in front of the mirror in her dormitory, adjusting her hair.

"Okay, I'm ready," Ayla told Lily, who uncovered her eyes. Lily's jaw dropped and her eyes popped.

"Oh, my god, Ayla, you look amazing."

Ayla had just finished getting ready for the dance with James. Ayla bit her lip nervously and Lily quickly reassured her.

"Not too good, though. Not so amazing that James will be all over you or anything. Just...the right amount of amazing."

Ayla smiled at her. "Thank you," she said sincerely. She smoothed her royal blue dress and opened the door, stepping into the common room.

Albus looked up and his eyes melted in awe as he gazed at her. "Ayla, you look beautiful."

She beamed at him, running a hand over her hair that was partially pulled up, the rest draped over her right shoulder. Albus kissed her gently and held her hands lightly. James entered the common room, looking slightly uncomfortable in his suit. His expression softened when he saw Ayla and Albus gave him a clap on the back.

"You take care of her, mate," he told his brother. James nodded at him.

"I will, buddy," James promised. "Oh, I have this, uh, this flowery thing for you." he held out the corsage in his hand. Ayla smiled in thanks as he put it on her wrist.

"Thanks, James," she said, looking at the flowers.

"You two have fun," Albus said, then turned to James. "Not too much fun," he added to his brother.

"Bye, Al," Ayla said, kissing him before she followed James out of the common room. Albus gazed after her as she left and she turned to wave at him before closing the door.

They arrived in the crowded area outside the Great Hall, where the rest of the fourth-and-fifth-year Quidditch players were waiting with their dates. James stood in the back and waited for the doors to open.

"Thanks for coming with me," he said, looking straight ahead.

"Yeah, what are friends for?" she said simply and he winced.

"It was cool of Al to let us go together," James commented next and Ayla looked confused.

"I mean, you're his brother. He trusts both of us and we're going together as friends. No big deal."

Before James could respond, the music began and the athletes began to proceed into the dance. James held out his arm as the other players had, and Ayla linked her elbow with his, walking down the Great Hall to the dance floor, where James was quick to show off his clumsy moves. Ayla laughed as they danced to the songs played by the live band. James tried to transition into a more provocative dance several times and Ayla was quick to stop him.

When the band faded into a slow song, Ayla gestured to the refreshments table.

"Hey, uh, do you want to go get drinks?" she asked.

"Um, yeah, I guess so," James answered glumly, following her to the table. Ayla filled two glasses with punch and handed one to James.

They sat at a table along the side of the dance floor, turning around to face the band and the dance floor. Ayla stirred her punch absentmindedly with her straw, looking around.

"You wish Al was here, don't you?" James asked, leaning back against the table. Ayla glanced over and then looked away.

"I...didn't say anything."

He set down his drink, nodding. "But you miss him."

Ayla looked at him uncomfortably. "Yeah, of course I do. But I'm not going to, like, ditch you here or anything."

James looked away angrily and Ayla looked at him helplessly.

"James, why are you being like this? Did I do something wrong?"

"Oh, no, you could never do anything wrong," he said sarcastically.

"Are you going to tell me what I did?" she prodded.

He looked at her. "You really want to know?"

"Yes, I really want to know."

He looked at her for a moment and then sighed apologetically. "No, I'm sorry, you didn't do anything wrong. It's just..." he stopped looking at her, holding his eye contact intensely. He rested his hand gently on her cheek, his hand trembling slighty. Ayla's eyes widened as he closed his and leaned in slowly.

Ayla jumped up and James's hand dropped onto the seat.

"W-what are you doing?" she demanded.

"I'm...trying to kiss you?" His words came out more as a question than an explanation.

"Yeah, I can see that. I was wondering more along the lines of WHY!"

James looked up at her from his seat, resting his elbows on his knees. "I want to."

Ayla shook her head incredulously, running her hand through her hair. "James, I-I'm in love with Albus. You know that."

He stood up, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, I do know that. But I also know that you two aren't meant to be together forever. That's why the family visit didn't go well; that's why Liam tried to sabotage your relationship And that's why you're out here with me instead of up in the common room with Albus doing whatever it is that you two do."

Ayla shook her head. "You're so wrong, James. The family visit went fine in the end, just so you know. And Liam tried to sabotage our relationship because he was angry; that was no sign from the Gods or whatever you think it was. And I am out here with you because you needed me to come with you and I always help out my friends."

"There it is again, the word FRIENDS. We're not just friends; I think I just proved that!"

Ayla narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, you're right, you proved it. We're sure as hell not friends." she picked up her punch. "I'm going to find Al."

As she stalked out of the Great Hall, James flopped down in his seat, regret flooding through him. He snatched a flask from the student next to him and drained it, tossing the container aside and dropping his head into his hands.

X.

Ayla and James went several months without speaking, with Albus equally as angry at James. It wasn't until the last day at Hogwarts when they received their results for their second term final exams that they spoke again.

Ayla waited anxiously in line in front of Professor Longbottom while everyone else looked around distractedly. Liam looked at her and Ayla looked down awkwardly. They had reached some sort of unspoken truce in which Ayla had forgiven him for telling her friends about her father.

Lily glanced at her watch, bored. "This line is going so slowly," she complained and Liam nodded in agreement, flopping down in the seat of the table behind him, next to Brad and Natasha.

"I'm sure you did great, Ayla," Albus promised her, wrapping his arms around her. James glanced at them and looked away, sitting next to Liam.

After about twenty minutes, they finally reached the front of the line.

Professor Longbottom handed Ayla her file, followed by Lily, Liam, Brad, Natasha, James, Albus, and then Hugo.

Ayla frantically opened the folder and scanned her close-to-perfect scores, sighing in relief. Albus, who had received a mix of A's and B's, put his arm around her shoulders.

James cursed loudly as he saw his marks, throwing his folder down.

"What happened?" Liam asked him, closing his own folder.

"I got a D in Muggle Studies. I'll have to do extra credit work over the summer or I'll be ineligible for Quidditch."

Ayla bit her lip, looking up at Albus and gently grabbing his hand that was resting on her shoulder. He nodded at her and she turned to James.

"I could help you," she said quietly. James looked at her, raising his eyebrows.

"What would make you do that?" He asked, equally quiet.

"Well, if I'm living in your house over the summer, it's the least I could do," Ayla explained. "And I'm from a muggle family; I might know some stuff that could help."

James hid a grin and grabbed her folder, looking at her grades playfully. "You're hired," he joked, tossing her folder back to her.

She laughed and Albus tightened his arm around her. James stood up and faced them, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Look, Ayla, I'm sorry for being a jerk at the dance. And Albus, I'm sorry for trying to kiss her. I was being an idiot and I'd spiked my own punch so I wasn't thinking." He pulled his hands out of his pockets and looked anxious. "So...truce?"

Albus cracked a grin and stuck out his hand. "Of course, man."

Hugo looked around. "It's kind of crazy to be leaving, huh?"

"Hey, you guys are coming to visit this summer, right?" Albus asked Liam, Brad, Hugo, and reluctantly, Natasha.

"Of course we are," Hugo promised. "We're family. All of us."

Ayla blinked rapidly, looking up at the ceiling. "Don't make me cry," she teased, shoving Hugo's shoulder playfully. She turned to Albus, James, and Lily. "Thank you. For giving me a place to stay. And thank you, all of you," she continued, turning to the whole group. "For giving me a family."

"Before you make all of us cry, we should go get our bags," Lily said, hugging Ayla tightly.

Ayla laughed and they all walked to the front doors where they had left their bags. They paused before embarking the train, taking one last look back at Hogwarts for the year.

"This was a good year," Ayla said. "This was...the best year of my life."

"We'll be back again next year," Albus said comfortingly, putting his arms around her. "You've got six more years of this to come."

Ayla beamed at him as they all entered the train and chose the same compartment they had ridden in after winter break.

"A good year..." Hugo repeated distractedly, gazing out the window. "A lot of memories."

Liam snorted. "Remember when Bradley got attacked by the bird in potions?" He recalled, earning a fit of laughter from the group.

"Oh, and when Sheldon drank that potion that we made and his limbs started growing!" James interjected.

"When we messed up the love potion and we thought Sheldon would fall in love with me!" Ayla exclaimed through her laughter.

For the rest of the train ride, they reminisced about their year. When the train stopped at King's Cross Station, Ayla's eyes welled up with tears.

"I'm going to miss you guys," she said softly.

"Ayla, you'll see us all the time," Lily assured her. "I mean, you're living with us, and the rest of our family visits almost every day so Hugo will be around constantly, and Liam and Brad will visit too."

Ayla smiled at her best friend. "You're right, you're right. This is going to be an amazing summer."

"Enjoy your last week of freedom before summer school," Hugo teased Brad, slapping him on the shoulder and Bradley whacked him in the gut.

"I'll see you guys soon," Ayla said, hugging Brad, Liam, and Hugo, then smiling tightly at Natasha. "And you'd better write to me. If you don't, I will hunt you down," she laughed, trying not to cry.

Liam laughed, looking down and blinking his own tears away. "Yeah, I believe that."

"Come on, guys, why are we crying?" James demanded. "It's summer; let's be happy!" He said awkwardly, stepping back.

"Okay, okay, you're right," Ayla said, wiping her eyes. "See you guys this summer."

"Until then," Liam returned formally, still trying to hold in his tears.

Ayla waved as she followed Albus, Lily, and James through the barrier to meet Harry and Ginny.

"Dad!" Lily cried, throwing her arms around her father and then her mother. Albus beamed and hugged them both, and James gave them each a light embrace.

"How were finals?" Ginny asked. "And how was the train ride? Oh, and the goodbye ceremonies at Hogwarts; they always do the best ones. How were they? Do you want to get dinner near here or go home first?"

"Mom, calm down," James interrupted with a laugh, putting his hand on her shoulder. "She always gets like this," he explained to Ayla and she smiled sweetly.

"How are you, Ayla?" Ginny asked.

"I'm great, how are you? And thank you so much for letting me stay with you."

"Anytime, sweetie, I mean that. Are you all ready to head home?" She asked and everyone nodded.

Ayla, Albus, James, and Lily looked back one more time at Brad, Hugo, and Liam.

"Yeah. We're ready to go," Ayla replied as Albus squeezed her hand.

They found the portkey Harry and Ginny had used and each put a hand on it. Ayla squeezed her eyes shut as they took off, knowing that she was about to begin the best summer of her life.

**Please review! I hope you like it so far! I'll get working on the next chapter right away! :)**


	30. Chapter 30

**Please review! Sorry it took me a long time to post, but it's a really long chapter! And the next chapter should be quicker because I'm almost finished writing it! :)**

Ayla ran a hand through her dark hair, zipping her designer suitcase shut and scanning over her schedule one more time. She folded up the parchment and placed it in the front pocket of her suitcase.

James walked past the room Ayla was sharing with Lily, pausing in front of the doorframe, gazing at Ayla. She had gotten even more beautiful over the summer; if possible. She had grown a bit and her hair was slightly longer, flowing effortlessly over her shoulders. Her skin was deeply tanned from the sun, which somehow made the violet in her eyes even more prominent. He watched as she draped her hair over her shoulder, turning around. He frantically tried to make it seem as though he had not been lurking in her doorway.

"Oh, hey, James," she greeted him, nice enough to ignore the fact that he had just been staring at her.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked casually, leaning against the wall.

"Just looking forward to going back to Hogwarts," she said excitedly.

He grinned, folding his arms and looking down. "Yeah, me too. I'll be a fifth year," he said, sounding like he was hinting at something.

She looked confused. "Yeah, I know..."

"Fifth year," he repeated. "You know, there's some sort of title that comes to some lucky fifth years."

Ayla's jaw dropped. "Oh, my god, you're a prefect?" She demanded, rushing towards him. "Let me see the badge!"

He grinned and pulled the badge out of his pocket. Ayla grabbed it and gaped at it.

"Okay, how do I say this without offending you?" She pondered, biting her lip. "Considering your record of...misdemeanors within school, how exactly were appointed prefect?"

He smirked proudly. "Legacy is golden," he replied simply and she laughed. "I'm going to tell Mom, Dad, and Lily when they get home."

"Well, congratulations. I should go check on Al, but I'm really happy for you." She smiled at him and cut through the bathroom to get to Albus's room.

Ayla knocked lightly on the door to Albus's room, then opened it quietly and peeked her head in. He stirred in his bed and opened his eyes slowly.

"Hey, Al," Ayla said gently, sitting next to him. "How are you feeling?"

"A little better," he said hoarsely. "The potion Dad gave me worked pretty well."

Ayla stroked his hair softly, and he closed his eyes tiredly. He had been sick for several days and had begged Harry to give him a potion to cure himself before school started again.

"Do you need anything?" Ayla offered and Albus took her hand, shaking his head weakly.

"No, but can you stay?" He pleaded feebly and Ayla smiled at him.

"Of course," she said softly, laying next to him and resting her head on his chest. He put his arm around her and closed his eyes.

"I love you," he said, kissing her head and she smiled.

"I love you, too," she answered, happiness flooding through her.

Albus rubbed his eyes after a moment, propping himself up on elbows. Ayla sat up and faced him.

"So, all in all, it was a good summer, huh?" Albus asked and Ayla beamed.

"It was the best summer I've ever had," she told him. "I only had to visit my house once and I got to see you every day. It couldn't have gotten any better."

Albus smiled and kissed her gently. "I'm so glad you stayed here for the summer, Ayla. I couldn't have spent three months away from you; I just couldn't."

Ayla smiled hugely, standing up. "I have to finish packing. I think we're leaving as soon as Harry, Ginny, and Lily are back."

Albus stood up and stretched. "Wow, that potion was a miracle-worker." He looked at her, his green eyes flooded with sincerity. "And thank you for taking care of me."

Ayla laughed. "Thank you for letting me live here this summer."

"Oh, yeah, it was a real hardship," he teased as he changed his shirt. "Oh, do you know where James is?"

"I saw him before I came in here; he's probably in his room now."

Albus opened the door for Ayla and the two of them headed to James's room. James leapt up when he saw them, holding out his badge for his younger brother to see.

Albus burst into laughter when he saw what was in James's hand. "You're a prefect?" He demanded through his roaring laughter. "You?"

James snatched the badge from Albus's hand, hiding his own laughter. "Aunt Hermione, Uncle Ron, Uncle Bill, Uncle Percy, and pretty much everyone in our family was a prefect."

"Not Mom or Dad," Albus argued, still amazed at the badge.

James shrugged, smirking, and shoved the badge into the pocket of his jeans.

"Total chaos commences," Albus narrated and James smacked him alongside the head.

Before they could finish their brotherly fighting, they heard the front door open and the voices of Harry, Ginny, and Lily drifted up the steps.

"Remember their reactions; I just know they'll be hilarious," James muttered to Ayla as the three of them went downstairs. "Hey guys!" James greeted them, turning over the badge in his pocket.

"What's in your pocket?" Harry demanded as he noticed. "If it's prank stuff, get rid of it."

James pulled out the badge and raised his eyebrows at his father.

"Oh, my god, is that what I think it is?" Ginny demanded, setting down her bags and grabbing it from his hand.

"Yep. I'm a prefect," James replied casually.

Lily burst into laugher and Harry followed.

"Wow, okay, son," Harry chuckled. "I don't know how you got it to look so realistic but that was a good one."

"Dad, no, I'm serious," James told him. "I'm seriously a prefect."

Harry froze, staring at his eldest son. "You're not kidding?"

"Nope," James said proudly, crossing his arms.

"Wow! Congratulations, James!" He hugged his son tightly, clapping him on the back. Ginny hugged him next, her eyes welling up with tears, much to James's embarrassment.

"I wish we could throw you a family party, James, but we have to leave! How about this; we'll get a Congratulations James cake at the next family party!"

"Calm down, mom, it's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?" Ginny repeated incredulously. "James, you're a prefect! Your aunts and uncles will be thrilled."

"No, please, Percy does not need to know about this. He'll never let it go," James begged.

"James, of course Percy will find out! Maybe we'll see everyone on the platform before you get on the train."

James sighed in dismay. "Alright, well, we should go." He picked up his bags and the group used a portkey to transport themselves to King's Cross Station.

As they spun through the air, Albus playfully grabbed Ayla's waist to scare her. She squealed in shock and they collapsed onto the ground together, both howling in laughter and earning many stares from muggles on platform 9.

Albus stood up and outstretched his hand, pulling Ayla to her feet, still laughing. As they approached the barrier, Albus turned to Ayla with a wicked grin on his face.

"I've got an idea." Before Ayla could respond, Albus swept her off her feet and placed her on the edge of his trolley.

"Oh, my god, Al, don't do it!" She protested, giggling, as he sprinted through the barrier, pushing her along in his trolley. Ayla slid down on the other side of the barrier, shoving Albus playfully. She caught side of Brad and Liam across the platform and waved enthusiastically.

"Cade!" She hollered to Bradley, who had been the only one to not visit all summer.

"Hey, guys!" Brad exclaimed, grinning. He slapped Albus and James on the backs and waved to Ayla and Lily.

"Hey, man," Albus greeted Liam, who smiled in return.

Albus quickly grew uncomfortable as he noticed Bradley's eyes continually trailing over Ayla.

"Hey, Brad, where's Natasha?" Albus asked pointedly.

"She's with her friends; I'm meeting her on the train," Bradley replied, averting his eyes from Ayla's chest.

"Well, I'm going to get in the train," James announced. "I'll see you guys at the castle."

"What, you're not riding with us?" Hugo asked as he approached them, leaving his sister Rose with his parents.

James pulled his badge out of his pocket and held it so the sun reflected on the shimmery metal.

Brad cursed in shock, Liam's jaw dropped, and Hugo snorted.

"You're not serious?" Hugo asked after a moment and James nodded smugly.

"See you on the train, kiddos," he said in mock condescension. He shot a grin at his friends, bid his parents goodbye, and got on the train.

"We should probably get on before all the compartments are taken," Lily suggested.

"Yeah, we should," Ayla agreed, picking up her bags. She approached Harry and Ginny, thanking them profusely and earning hugs from both of them. She then followed her friends onto the train, slinging her bags onto the shelf above the window in the first empty compartment they saw.

"So," Hugo began, smirking at Brad. "Tell us about summer school."

Bradley groaned, leaning back in his seat. "It sucked. I was the only Gryffindor there; surrounded by a bunch of seventh-year Slytherins. But whatever, how about you guys?"

"It was pretty awesome," Ayla said, grinning at Albus and Lily.

Lily smiled back at her best friend. "Ayla and I spent it mostly shopping and playing matchmaker for James."

"Hey, what ever happened with that blonde girl he went out with?" Brad asked.

Albus snorted. "They were together for about two weeks."

"And you two are obviously still going strong," Bradley observed, noticing the way Ayla was leaning back against Albus's chest, their hands intertwined.

Ayla and Albus beamed and Albus kissed Ayla's cheek. Hugo threw a handful of the peanuts he had been eating at them, yelling for them to get a room. Ayla threw them back immediately, laughing.

Shortly after the train departed, the compartment door slid open and Natasha stood in the doorway, one hand on her hip.

"Ayla," she sneered as she sat down on Bradley's lap, whose hand immediately landed on her thigh.

"Natasha," Ayla returned in a friendly voice.

They spent the train ride discussing their excitement for the next year while eating every kind of wizard candy imaginable from the trolley that came through.

When they arrived at the school, Ayla, Lily, Hugo, Liam, and Brad got to ride in the carriages for the first time while the first years took the boats as usual.

"Wow, that's cool looking!" Ayla exclaimed when she saw the carriage.

"What is?" Lily asked as she climbed into the carriage.

"The thing pulling the carriage. What kind of animal is it?"

Lily peered over the edge of the carriage and gave Ayla a strange look. "Ayla, there's nothing pulling the carriage. I think they're charmed or something."

Albus stared at Ayla, confusion covering his face. "You can see that?" He asked, stunned.

"Yeah, can't you?" Ayla asked in surprise. "What, am I hallucinating?"

"No, there's a reason you can see it," Albus told her. "Or, there's a reason that some people can see it while others can't. I just don't know why you'd be able to see it."

"What's the reason?" Ayla wondered.

"I'll...tell you later." Albus stepped aside and gestured for Ayla to go ahead of them and she hopped up into the carriage and Albus settled into the seat next to her.

"Wonder what prefect-y thing James is doing now," Liam mused and Albus laughed.

"God, he is going to be the worst prefect," Albus chuckled. "I love the guy, but he can't even abide by the rules, let alone enforce them."

The group laughed in agreement as the carriages pulled up slowly in front of the castle.

They all hopped off the carriage and entered the castle with the others.

"There are three kids from Sunnydale who are coming into Hogwarts this year," Ayla told Albus as they walked in. "I can't wait to see them get sorted."

"On, point them out during the sorting!" Albus said excitedly as they filed into the Great Hall. "Will they remember you? I mean, you were pretty young when you were there and if they're even younger than you..."

Ayla bit her lip and looked down. "Uh, yeah, I used to kind of...sneak out of my house and go back to visit people sometimes. Once we got a little older, they would sneak out and come to my house when everyone else was asleep." She shrugged. "Two of the three kids were like a brother and sister to me."

Ayla caught sight of Albus's cousins Rose, Louis, Fred, Roxanne, Molly, and Lucy, who she had become closer with over the summer, as the family was frequently visiting the Potters.

"Hey!" Ayla exclaimed, hugging each of them. They moved on to hug Albus, Lily and Hugo.

"Where's James?" Rose asked as she finished hugging everyone but her brother, Hugo.

"You didn't hear?" Albus asked, grinning. "He's a prefect."

"James?" Louis demanded in disbelief and Albus nodded.

"Everyone please take a seat while we await the first years' arrival," McGonagall requested into the microphone. Ayla sat down between Albus and Lily, the group crowding around the table.

The doors opened and a sea of first years streamed into the hall. One small boy who looked a lot younger than he was got out of line to hug Ayla as he spotted her.

"Good luck!" She whispered to him as he rejoined the others. She twisted around to see Albus. "That's José Ballar. His parents put him straight into Sunnydale when he was born."

"What were his parents like?" Albus whispered back, concerned.

Ayla shrugged sadly. "He never went back home. I asked the social worker-the one who I first told about my father-to help him. The social worker was a muggle, so I couldn't tell him everything, but I told him what he needed to know. He placed him with an adoptive couple about a year and a half ago. Since he had already been in a group home, they didn't put him in the foster care system; they had him adopted."

Albus couldn't respond because McGonagall came to the podium and ordered the students to be quiet. She cleared her throat and unrolled a scroll.

"Briana Accardi."

A girl with light brown hair and a flushed, nervous face approached the stool. McGonagall laid the hat on her head, causing the girl to flinch. After a moment, the hat bellowed, "Hufflepuff!"

"Katrina Acker."

"Slytherin!"

"Melissa Arthur."

"Ravenclaw!"

"José Ballar."

Ayla's fist clenched nervously as she watched José walk shakily up to the stool. Perhaps it was just her anxiety, but the hat seemed to take longer than it had for the other students.

"Gryffindor!" The hat finally announced and the Gryffindor table erupted into applause at their first new member.

"Wooo!" Ayla hooted, clapping loudly as José sat down between her and Lily, finding comfort in someone that he already knew. She hugged his shoulders tightly.

"Nancy Brenner."

"Ravenclaw!"

"Xavier Capitani."

"Slytherin!"

"Alisia Carpenter."

"Slytherin!"

"Justin DeMaury."

"Gryffindor!"

"Courtney Domant."

"Ravenclaw!"

"Dylan Evanbush."

"Hufflepuff!"

"Aidan Foster."

"Gryffindor!"

"Sean Foster."

"Gryffindor!"

"Russel Gray."

"Slytherin!"

"Heather Greenwich."

Ayla grabbed Albus's arm as a small brunette girl with freckles walked up to the stool. "That's one of the girls from Sunnydale," she whispered. "She wants to be in Gryffindor." She waited, crossing her fingers.

"Gryffindor!"

"Yes!" Ayla hissed as the girl dashed off to find a seat.

"Lisa Hightower."

"Ravenclaw!"

"Kris Izelli."

"Ravenclaw!"

"Marcus Javin."

"Slytherin!"

"Daniel Jolan."

"Hufflepuff!"

"Jacob Kaplan."

"Gryffindor!"

"Lucas Kimble."

"Ravenclaw!"

"Christina Lee."

"Slytherin!"

"Jackson Lenor."

"Gryffindor!"

"Savannah Lexington."

"Ravenclaw!"

"Audrey McGettigan."

"That's the last one!" Ayla whispered anxiously, wringing her hands nervously.

"Gryffindor!" The hat declared and Albus had to stop Ayla from leaping out of her chair.

"All three of them got in!" Ayla whispered excitedly, beaming.

"Kaitlyn Mattson."

"Hufflepuff!"

Ayla spent the rest of the sorting ceremony whispering under her breath to José, catching up after over a year apart. Albus looked at Ayla, seeing how happy she was to see her childhood best friends again. He smiled softly as he gazed at her.

After the sorting, the house heads lined up to announce the prefects.

"Please welcome Neville Longbottom, head of Gryffindor house," McGonagall announced, stepping away from the podium as Neville approached it.

"The Gryffindor prefects are..." He paused as he unrolled his parchment. He nearly choked as he saw the name on the list, clearly not having been part of the decision-making process when appointing prefects. "J-James Potter and-"

Before he could announce the female Gryffindor prefect, James interrupted by cheering and pounding on his chest in celebration.

"Great start there, James," Neville laughed as McGonagall shot him an angry look. "Uh, James Potter and Alicia Blake."

The students applauded as McGonagall introduced Ernie MacMillian, head of Hufflepuff house.

"The Hufflepuff prefects are David Finch-Fletchey and Mary Hewitt."

The students applauded politely before McGonagall returned to the podium and introduced Stewart Ackerley, head of Ravenclaw house. There was scattered applause from some female students as Professor Ackerley strode over to the podium.

"The Ravenclaw prefects are Jamie Campbell Christina Nicholson."

Finally, McGonagall introduced Professor Slughorn as head of Sytherin house. He approached the podium and cleared his throat.

"The Slytherin prefects are Justin Renson and Callie Mitchell."

McGonagall stepped up to the podium one last time to initiate the feast. Platters full of food appeared all over the table.

"Cool!" José exclaimed, lunging forward to fill his plate with turkey. "Hi, Natasha!" He exclaimed in his high voice when he spotted her. She smiled and slid the plate of turkey towards him.

José chattered on as they ate dinner, and when it was time to leave, he followed Alicia and James, who had already intentionally pointed many first years in the wrong direction, up to the common room.

"Wow, for a little guy, he's sure got a lot of voice in him," Liam commented as they stood up to head to the common room.

"Get used to him; he follows Ayla and me around like a lost puppy," Natasha said, but she was smiling softly.

"How do you guys know him?" Brad asked and Ayla and Natasha glanced at each other awkwardly.

Even though her friends knew about her family-or lack thereof-but she was not sure whether or not they knew about her time at Sunnydale. She had told Liam in a moment of anger and panic, and he had told the group about her past, but she didn't know the extent of what he had told.

"Um, he lived in the same facility as us when we were kids," Ayla responded. She glanced at Liam and he nodded stiffly.

When they reached the common room, Ayla pulled Albus aside. "What do the carriages mean?" She asked him and he bit his lower lip hesitantly.

"If I tell you, it's probably going to upset you. It'll bring back some memory that you most likely don't want to remember."

"Tell me, please," Ayla begged, her hands resting on his chest. He sighed, looking around. He put his arm around her gently as he told her.

"Alright, only people who have seen death can see the animals pulling the carriages. They're called thestrals."

Ayla dropped her hands and took a small step back, confused. "But...I've never seen anyone..." She shook her head. "Not that I remember, at least."

Albus's face fell and he hugged her tightly. "Look, I'm sure it's fine. Maybe it was, like, from a distance and you didn't know they died..."

"Yeah, maybe," Ayla said distractedly, clearly trying to figure it out.

"Don't worry about it, Ayla, I shouldn't have even told you, I-"

"No, no, I'm glad you did," Ayla assured him. She changed the subject and her face spread into a smile. "It's so amazing to be back here."

Albus beamed. "It really is," he breathed, gazing around the common room.

"Albus, thank you so much for letting me stay with you over the summer," she said sincerely. "Seriously, it was the best summer of my life."

Albus smiled at her, noticing how much brighter her eyes had gotten since he met her. "I love you, Ayla," he said firmly, feeling as though he needed to make sure that she knew that.

"I love you too, Albus."

"I want to show you something," Albus said, grinning. He grabbed her hand and darted out of the common room. They ran cross the seventh floor until they reached a side corridor, walking down until they reached a stone wall across from an odd-looking tapestry. Albus gestured dramatically toward it.

"Uh...a wall?" Ayla asked, hiding a smile.

"Watch this," he said excitedly, walking back and forth three times in front of the wall. Ayla watched in amazement as the wall transformed into a doorway.

"How did you do that?" She asked in awe.

Albus grabbed her hand, grinning, and pulled her inside. The stone solidified back into a wall behind them as Albus pulled Ayla into his arms and kissed her.

She kissed him back, smiling against his lips, never feeling happier than she did at this moment in his arms. Ayla's cold hand slipped under his shirt and he pulled it off eagerly. They collapsed onto the couch that was conveniently placed in the room, Albus's hands on Ayla's waist. After a while, Ayla pulled back reluctantly, looking at her watch.

"It's curfew," she said disappointedly. "We've got to head back." She stood up and fixed her shirt that was half unbuttoned.

Albus took a moment to catch his breath, and then looked up at her. "Who's going to catch us breaking curfew?" He teased, grinning.

"Are you trying to get me to break the rules on the very first day?" She demanded playfully and he laughed.

"Come on, if James catches us breaking curfew, he'll probably laugh."

"True, but if anyone else catches us, we'll get detention." She grabbed his hands to pull him up from the couch, knowing that he had no intention of standing up. He pulled her down onto the couch with him and she laughed loudly. After a long fit of laughter, she stood back up. "Seriously, it's past curfew now."

"Ugh, fine," Albus joked, following her out of the room.

"Are you going to tell me what that room is?" She asked as they walked back to the common room.

"It's the room of requirement. Anything that the seeker needs will appear in the room when they open it."

"That's awesome!" Ayla exclaimed. "We should go back more often," she said flirtatiously. "It was really fun."

Albus grabbed her hand and pulled her aside to kiss her, twirling her around on the way. She giggled as he spun her around and kissed him slowly.

"Okay, now we really have to hurry," she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him along. They arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady and told her the password as she announced that they had broken curfew.

"Ooh, I wonder if she'll give us detention," Albus joked and Ayla laughed.

"She won't, but I might," came a voice. They spun around to see James standing in front of one of the armchairs. He walked over to them, arms crossed.

"Oh, wow, very scary," Albus joked with his brother, who did not appear to be amused.

"Detention," he said, pulling a slip of paper from his pocket and scribbling their names on it.

"You're joking," Albus said incredulously.

"It's my job, Mr. Potter," James returned calmly, handing the slip to him. "You and Miss Torres will be serving detention tomorrow night in the library."

"James-" Albus began but James interrupted him.

"I suggest that you head to your dormitories," James said coolly, and walked away, leaving the two of them standing in shock in the common room.

"Did James just give us a detention?" Albus asked in disbelief. Ayla nodded slowly, stunned.

"I think so..."

"I guess we should go to bed before he comes back," Albus said reluctantly.

"Night, Al," Ayla said, kissing him.

"Good night. I love you."

"I love you, too," she returned as she entered her dormitory, turning around to look at him as he headed to the boy's dormitories.

X.

Ayla looked at her schedule the next morning. She had History of Magic, Transfiguration, Herbology, and Potions during the first term. The castle was stiflingly hot, and everyone was already looking forward to the winter time.

Lily was in front of the mirror, shoving her hair into a ponytail to get it off of her neck in the heat. "Geez, can't they have some kind of spell to cool down the castle?" She demanded as she grabbed her books for History of Magic. "And we have the worst first term schedule. I mean, the most boring class is first period and we're in the greenhouses during the hottest part of the day."

"Next semester won't be too bad, though," Ayla said optimistically. "I mean, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, and Astronomy...Charms and Astronomy are the two easiest classes."

"True," Lily agreed. "You ready?"

"Yeah." Ayla and Lily walked to History of Magic together as Ayla told her about James.

"He gave you a detention?" Lily demanded.

"I don't mind that he gave me a detention," Ayla admitted. "I mean, he's a prefect and it's his job, but...'Miss Torres'? I mean, come on, it's like he was just trying to piss us off."

"Definitely not a James-ish thing to do," Lily agreed. As they walked down the hallway, they saw James giving a first-year a detention for running in the hallway.

"Kids these days..." He murmured to himself as he walked sat Lily and Ayla without even saying hello.

Stunned, Lily stared after him. "Did he just...?"

"Yeah..." Ayla replied, equally shocked.

"Wow." Lily shook her head as they entered Professor Binns's classroom, where they saw a very any Bradley sitting between Liam and Hugo.

"What's up?" Ayla asked, sitting in front of Liam as Lily sat in front of Brad.

"Your brother," he began, looking at Lily, "just gave me a detention for public displays of affection in the hallway," he said angrily.

"He gave Ayla and Al a detention for breaking curfew," Lily replied, shaking her head.

Brad's eyebrows shot up suggestively and he grinned at Ayla. "What were you doing after curfew?"

"What were you doing with Natasha in the hallway?" Ayla returned teasingly.

"We saw him in the hallway giving a first year a detention for running," Lily continued.

"Are you kidding?" Hugo demanded, leaning forward.

"I wish," Lily said dryly, but at that moment Professor Binns wafted through the wall. Professor Binns was a ghost, and also the most boring teacher to ever work at Hogwarts.

"Hello, class," he greeted them slowly. "Welcome to the first day of your second year at Hogwarts School of Withcraft and we will be discussing the International Warlock Convention of 1289."

Ayla struggled to pay attention as she took copious notes on the lecture. She liked to write down exactly what Binns said, word for word, so that she could read it later in less of a monotone.

Lily's head dropped down onto her arms and Liam slunk down in his seat. Hugo was gazing out the window and Brad was snoring loudly.

When the bell rang at the end of class, the students shook awake and filed out of the classroom. They headed to Transfiguration, which was a lot less boring than History of Magic had been. After that, they headed to lunch, where Ayla got to see Albus again.

She sat down in the Great Hall and Albus put his arm around her. "How's your first day so far?" He asked.

"Good," she said brightly. "How about yours?"

"Awesome. I had Care of Magical creatures and Divination so far. Care of Magical Creatures is awesome; it's with Hagrid. And Divination is really weird, but it's easy."

After an enjoyable lunch, Ayla headed to Herbology with Lily, Brad, Hugo, and Liam. They trudged through the hot, humid air to get to the even hotter greenhouses.

Professor Longbottom called the class's attention. "Welcome, everyone! Look, I know it's hot in the greenhouses-believe me, I've been in here all day-but we all just have to suffer through it until we can get back into the castle," he said, then scrunched up his face awkwardly. "Which, come to think of it, is also very hot." He looked down, realizing his speech hadn't gone very well. "Anyway, my point is, in a couple weeks, the weather will be cooler, so we'll just have to tough it out for now. Aright, get to work!"

They were planting asphodel plants, and they were to analyze the growth of them over the next few weeks. Ayla was partnered with Lily. She picked up the green pot to hold the plant and began shoveling soil into it.

They talked to Liam and Brad, who were partnered together, as they worked. Hugo was working with another Gryffindor named Nathan Brooks.

"So," Lily began quietly, turning away from Bradley and Liam. "You and Al didn't...I mean, when you broke curfew, were you...you're not-?"

Ayla chuckled at Lily's struggle to phrase her question. "We were just snogging," she replied and Lily nodded.

"I mean, it just seemed...I mean, you two have been...I just didn't know if..."

"Not yet," Ayla said, sparing her from asking the question.

"Do you think that's something you might be getting to soon?" Lily asked awkwardly.

Ayla bit her lip, hiding a smile. "I'd like to...soon, maybe. We talked about it once and he was totally understanding when I said I wasn't ready yet."

Brad leaned forward to join their hushed conversation.

"Are you talking about you and Al?" He asked and Ayla nodded. Brad laughed once. "I can guarantee that he would be happy to."

Ayla blushed and looked away. "Do we have to discuss this right now?" She asked, looking around at the abundance of students nearby.

"I'm just saying, I mean, how couldn't he want to...?" Bradley trailed off, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "Never mind."

"What about you and Natasha?" Liam asked, elbowing his friend.

Bradley blew out his breath. "She's not...she won't let me...you know..." He cleared his throat and looked down.

"Well, this is sufficiently awkward," Lily declared and everyone laughed. Bradley changed the subject back to the heat.

"Can they just put us on lockdown in the dungeons?" He whined. "That's the only cold place in the whole castle right now."

The bell rang just then and everyone put their plants on the back shelf. They exited the greenhouse and Bradley yanked off his Hogwarts robes, wearing his white shirt unbuttoned overtop of his cargo shorts. Lily's eyes widened and she looked away so as not to seem like she was staring. Unfortunately, they ran into James in the entrance hall, and Brad received another detention for not abiding by the dress code.

"We don't have a dress code!" Brad roared.

"We have uniforms for a reason, Mr. Cade," James replied.

"But we're only required to wear them in class and mealtimes," Bradley shot back.

"There's another detention for speaking to your superior in a disrespectful manner," James said, removing another slip of paper from his pocket. "Three detentions in one day," he scolded. "I am not impressed."

With that he walked away, leaving Brad cursing in rage behind him.

Ayla looked at his detention slip. "Hey, you're in the library tonight too! You'll be with Al and me."

"Wow," Brad said with a smirk. "Third-wheeling even in detention."

"Where are your other two detentions?" Lily asked and Brad looked at the slips.

"The one I have with Natasha is in the trophy room...the one I got for not wearing a shirt is in the hospital wing...and yeah, the last one is with Ayla and Al in the library."

"The hospital wing?" Hugo repeated with a snort. "What's she going to make you do; scrub the bedpans?"

"Oh, god, I hope not!" Brad whimpered. They had reached the common room and he flopped down on the arm chair.

"At least we have potions next," Ayla said brightly. "We get to be in the cold dungeons."

There was a murmur of agreement from her friends, but everyone was too tired to speak. Ayla stood up and walked to Al's dormitory, tapping lightly on the door. He opened it after a moment, and grinned when he saw her.

"Hey!" He stepped back to let her in. Ayla smiled in greeting at his only roommate who was in the dormitory, Seth.

"Ayla" he said with a nod.

"Hey, Seth."

"Uh...I'm gonna...go to class early." He picked up his book and left them alone.

"How was Herbology?" Albus asked, sitting down on his bed and pulling Ayla onto his lap.

"Hot, but other than that, it was good. How was Charms?"

"Not bad. Looking forward to detention?" He joked.

Ayla laughed. "Brady's going to be there, too. James gave him a detention for 'violating dress code'."

Albus laughed once without humor. "What's gotten into him?" He wondered aloud, collapsing onto his back on his bed, pulling Ayla with him by the waist and earning a giggle from her. She kissed him and then pulled back, remembering the conversation in Herbology.

"Oh, apparently Lily's very interested in our relationship," she said with a laugh.

"Did she ask you about it?"

"She asked me if we had done anything more than what we've been doing," Ayla answered and Albus blushed slightly.

"Well, that's a little uncomfortable...considering she's my little sister." He looked at her. "What did you say?"

"I told her that we hadn't done that yet. And I told her how understanding you were when I said I wasn't ready. Thank you for that, by the way..."

"Of course, Ayla. I would never want you to do anything that you weren't ready for."

Ayla looked down for a moment, her fingers nervously fiddling with the fabric of his shirt. "But, um, if I was ready, sometime soon...would you still want to...?"

Albus gulped and shifted his position. "R-really? Of course I would; I'm ready any time. But if you're not emotionally prepared yet, that's okay, don't rush into anything just for me."

She looked up at him through glistening eyes and smiled softly. "Albus...you are, by far, the sweetest guy I've ever known in my life."

"I love you," he said sincerely.

"I love you, too." She leaned back against Albus's chest, his arms around her waist. He moved one hand up to run his fingers through her hair gently. Ayla glanced at her watch and sighed, not wanting to leave his arms. "We have to go to class," she said glumly.

"I'll be waiting outside the dungeons when you get out of Potions," he promised as they stood up. He walked Ayla to the entrance of her Potions classroom, where they stood to the left of the doorway as they said goodbye.

"Thanks for walking me," Ayla said, taking his hands. "I'll see you after class."

Albus kissed her and pulled back, hugging her tightly. "I love you." He waved as he walked away to his own class. Ayla gazed after him until he turned the corner, and then she entered Potions. Professor Slughorn smiled at her as she sat down between Lily and Hugo.

She took her potions book of her bag and set it down on the table in front of her.

"Today we will be brewing a Swelling Solution. The recipe is found on page 214. Get started."

Ayla opened to page 214 and set her cauldron on the desk.

"What are we going to do about James?" Lily asked as she crushed dried nettles with her pestle.

Ayla sighed helplessly. "I mean, I don't know how much we can do. Maybe he's just acting like this because it's his first day as a prefect. Do you think we should just give it some time and see how he acts in the long run?"

"I guess, but I'm not sure how much longer I can put up with it," Brad grumbled.

There was a murmur of agreement from the group as they continued working on their potions. When they were finished, Professor Slughorn paced around the classroom, checking each cauldron.

"Very nice, Miss Torres..." He mused and Ayla smiled. "Better than last time, Mr. Taylor...Quite decent, Miss Potter, just let it sit a little longer next time before you add the bat spleen...Mr. Weasley, rather good..." He stopped in front of Brad's cauldron. "Mr. Cade, what on earth did you do?"

Brad's potion was a gooey, bubbling brown mixture that did not look appealing at all.

"Um...I don't know," Brad admitted uncertainly.

Professor Slughorn made a disapproving noise in his throat and wrote something on his notepad, then turned and walked away.

The bell rang at that time and they all left the classroom, where Ayla saw Albus waiting next to the doorway. She hugged him and they set off to the common room with their arms around each other.

"Do you want to go to the room of requirement again?" Ayla whispered in Albus's ear and he nodded eagerly. They stayed in the room of requirement until dinner, when they left for the Great Hall.

"What time is your detention?" Lily asked when they arrived.

"Eight until midnight," Ayla answered grimly.

"Fun," Lily said sarcastically as she moved some turkey onto her plate.

After dinner, Ayla and Albus dropped of their things in their dormitories and headed to the library for detention. They waited at a table near the center for James to show up. The door opened and a pale blonde boy walked in wearing a smirk.

"Look who it is," Albus mumbled under his breath, his eyes hardening. "Scorpius," he greeted him curtly.

"Potter," the boy sneered back. He looked at Ayla and the smirk grew wider. "Potter's got a girlfriend, I see?"

"This is Ayla," Albus said, resting his arm on the back of her chair. "Ayla, this is Scorpius Malfoy."

"What'd you do to get detention?" The boy demanded, flopping onto his seat and kicking his feet up on the table.

"Curfew violation," Albus said blandly.

The boy nodded, eyes narrowed. "Ditching class."

The door opened again and Brad entered, his shirt covered in sweat and his face crinkled in disgust, having just come back from his detention in the hospital wing. "Yup, they made me scrub bedpans!" He declared, collapsing onto a chair. "Oh, hey, man," he said to Scorpius. "Bradley Cade."

"Scorpius Malfoy," the boy said disapprovingly, his eyes running over Brad.

The door opened one last time and James entered. He slammed a bin of cleaning supplies on the table. "You'll be cleaning the books," he announced, wheeling a cart of dusty, ancient-looking books over to them. "And I'll be confiscating your wands to ensure that you don't use magic."

Ayla reluctantly held her wand out, keeping her tight grip on it until James pulled it from her grasp and she dropped her hand onto the table.

"Alright. I'll be checking in on you every hour." He turned on his heel and left the library, slamming the door behind him.

"He is such an ass," Albus muttered as his brother left.

Ayla leaned over to grab some cleaning supplies, scrubbing the cover of an old spell-book.

"Why does the library even have these books?" Brad grumbled as he wiped off the cover of one of them. He coughed at the dust that clouded the air in front of him.

"Can you try to keep the dust down?" Scorpius demanded rudely, fanning the air. Brad scowled at him.

Ayla picked up one of the water sprayers and spritzed Albus in the face. He lunged for her playfully, grabbing her around the waist and lifting her up, spinning her around and throwing her over his shoulder. She threw her head back and laughed loudly as he swirled her around in circles. He set he down, laughing, and kissed her. She sprayed him one more time with water before returning to cleaning the books.

As promised, James returned each hour, and by the end of the night, they were all covered in water and dust.

"Midnight," James announced as he burst in one last time. "You're dismissed."

Ayla, Albus, and Brad headed to the Gryffindor common room, while Scorpius headed for the Slytherin common room.

"So, what's with you and that Scorpius guy?" Ayla asked on the way back.

"His dad and my dad were enemies when they were at Hogwarts. Scorpius is the rudest person you'll ever meet."

When they reached the common room, Lily was sitting with Liam and Hugo in the common room.

"Hey, guys! How was the library?" Lily asked.

"Better than the hospital wing," Brad muttered, sitting down in exhaustion.

"Why are you two all wet?" Lily asked Ayla and Albus.

"Water fight," Ayla laughed, sitting on Albus's lap on a recliner.

The group played Exploding Snap-courtesy of Albus-for the next few hours until they all eventually went to bed to catch a few hours of sleep before waking up for class.

Over the next few weeks, they spotted James giving detentions for bringing food out of the Great Hall, walking too slowly, running, talking too loudly in the corridors, and he even gave a detention to José for not knowing where he was going.

"Did you just give him a detention for getting lost?" Ayla demanded when she saw this.

"Perhaps if he can't find his way around, he should invest in a map," James said coolly.

"James, he just got to the school. He got lost on the way to a class and he was about to ask for help. What would you have preferred that he did?"

"I don't like your tone, Miss Torres. I'll have to write you up for that as well. Two detentions this year already, Ayla, I'm very disappointed. But I'll be with you in a moment; I'm speaking to Mr. Ballar." He turned back to José. "I'm going to need the name of your parents and the address of your permanent place of residence so that I can write to them."

"That's, um...not applicable," he said, looking down, suddenly becoming interested in scuffing his foot against the floor.

"Don't you dare try to omit any information, because I am not afraid to go to the headmistress," James threatened.

"I'm not omitting anything," José replied, barely audible. "I really don't have a permanent residence or parents." He took a deep breath, shoving his hands in his pockets. "The couple that adopted me...they let me go when I got into Hogwarts. They figured that if I'm staying here most of the year, then I don't need a home. The living situation is going to be worked out at the end of the year; they'll decide whether I'm going into the foster system or if I'm going to an orphanage."

Ayla's mouth opened softly and her eyes glistened with tears.

"Alright, well, I'll just have to put you in detention until you can come up with some sort of authority figure for me to contact."

"James!" Ayla shouted, grabbing José's shoulder protectively. "What the hell is the matter with you?"

"I do not appreciate your tone, Miss-" James began, but Ayla interrupted.

"Oh, don't call me 'Miss Torres' again!" Ayla shrieked. "Look, I know that you're enjoying being a prefect and everything, but you can't just abuse your power like this." By now, people were gathering around to listen, their faces set in agreement. "You can't just go around giving people detentions just because you're allowed to. You're here to make sure that people are abiding by the rules, not to put us down and make us feel like your inferiors."

James's face melted into regret and he looked around at the crowd standing nearby. Everyone was glaring at him furiously.

"You guys all feel like this, too?" He asked quietly.

"You gave me a detention for chewing my gum too loudly," one Ravenclaw girl interjected.

"And you gave me a detention for taking too long in the bathroom," a Hufflepuff first-year put in.

"You gave me a detention for dropping my stuff in the hallway and taking too long to pick it up," a third-year boy announced.

This went on for a while until James was thoroughly upset.

"Gosh, I'm sorry, guys," he said, his face ashen. "It just seemed so cool...being able to tell people what to do. I just thought...it was awesome that I could do whatever I wanted. I'm really sorry; I didn't realize how out of control I got."

"It's alright, James, we're just saying that you should only be giving detentions to people who actually deserve it because they truly broke the rules," Ayla explained.

James looked around helplessly and lowered his voice so only Ayla could hear him. "So, how do I get my friends back?"

"Same way you earned them in the first place," Ayla replied simply and James looked confused. "Breaking the rules."

X.

James ended up in detention every night for a month for setting off fireworks and stink bombs -causing a school evacuation-and he had his friends back on his good side.

Ayla, however, was upset about José's living situation. She was lying on the couch in the common room with Albus, his arms around her.

"I just wish I could help him," she said sadly. "I mean, he's like my little brother, and I can't believe that they would just...kick him out because he wasn't going to be there all year round."

"You did everything you could, Ayla. I mean, you got him out of Sunnydale and into a great home. At least, it was great while it lasted. And I'm sure he'll always be thankful for that. And they'll find something for him over the summer, whether it's an orphanage or foster care or another adoptive couple."

Ayla wiped away her tears and looked out the window at the autumn weather. The heat wave had ended and a chill was spreading over the air as winter approached rapidly.

James burst into the common room, having come straight from detention. He marched over, dropped a letter onto Albus's lap, and dashed off to his dormitory, wiping his face on his sleeve. Albus frowned after him in confusion and opened the letter. Ayla waited while he read it. Albus dropped the letter, his hands shaking slightly.

"What is it?" Ayla asked, her eyes widening in concern.

"It's from my parents. My great-grandpa died."

"Oh, Al," Ayla murmured sympathetically, hugging him tightly. He was shaking slightly and she tightened her arms around him. "I'm so sorry; what can I do?"

He pulled back, still trembling. "I just-I can't believe it. Remember when my parents took James, Lily, and me to London for the day toward the end of summer to visit family?"

Ayla nodded, her hand gently rubbing his back comfortingly.

"He's the one we were visiting, and-I mean, he was old, but he seemed to be doing well!" His voice broke and tears finally fell from his eyes. Ayla hugged him again, wishing she could do something more to help him.

"I'm so sorry, Al," she whispered. He cried until his eyes were tired and dried out, then he pulled back from her arms and wiped his eyes with his hand. He pulled his legs onto the couch and laid down, his head resting in Ayla's lap. She stroked his hair comfortingly.

Lily emerged from her dormitory several minutes later, stopping in her tracks when she saw Albus crying. "What's going on?" She demanded and Albus opened his eyes, sitting up shakily.

"Lily," he began, standing up and folding his arms. He sniffled and wiped his eyes again. "Great Pop-pop died."

"What?" Lily gasped, stumbling back slightly. "W-what happened?"

Albus shrugged helplessly, handing her the letter. "Natural causes, apparently."

Ayla moved to hug Lily as she finished reading the letter.

"I'm so sorry," Ayla said again as she heard Lily begin to cry.

"Does James know?" Lily asked, pulling back from the hug.

"Yeah," Albus said, sitting down. "He gave me the letter."

"You know," Ayla began gently, "sometimes, when you lose someone, it's good to think of your favorite memories with them. You know, like celebrating how great of a person they were."

Albus smiled sadly as he thought of his great-grandfather. "When we were little, he used to take us to this one candy store," Albus said and Lily laughed once through her tears. "He was friends with the owner, so we used to be able to get free candy. And then he'd take us to do all sorts of muggle stuff. He was just like Grandpa Arthur; he loved muggles."

"He used to let me drive his muggle car," Lily said, giggling. "I mean, I would sit on his lap so he could use the gas and brake, but he'd let me steer."

Ayla looked between her two favorite people, her face ashen. "Is there anything I can do for you right now?"

"I need you to come to the funeral," Albus pleaded. "Please, Ayla, I can't go there alone."

"Of course, baby, anything," Ayla said comfortingly, hugging him again.

Lily consulted the letter again. "The funeral is in two days; we should probably go ask McGonagall if we're allowed to miss school."

Albus nodded tiredly and stood up. "I'm just going to get James." He started toward his brother's dormitory, then stopped. "I-I don't think I can face James. In my entire life, I've never seen him cry. If he's crying now, I-I don't think I'll be able to handle it. You know it's really bad once James cries." He sat down, his knees feeling weak. "Ayla, can you get him?" He begged through his shaky voice.

"Of course," Ayla said gently, walking to Albus's dormitory and knocking gently. His roommate answered and looked shocked to see a girl standing in the doorway. "I need to talk to James," she said quietly. The boy stepped aside, not saying anything. Ayla looked around and saw no sign of him. "Um, w-where is he?" She asked awkwardly to the boy. He pointed to the one bed that had its curtains drawn. She walked over slowly, resting her hand on the curtains. "James?" She asked, sliding the curtains aside. He was sitting in his bed, staring straight ahead, his fists clenched. "Albus and Lily need you. They need to ask McGonagall about missing school for...for the funeral."

James drew in a shaky breath, unclenching his fist and standing up. He silently followed Ayla out of the common room. In the time that she'd known him, Ayla had never seen him stay quiet for this long.

"Do you want me to stay here while you guys go?" Ayla offered, not wanting to intrude.

"Come," all three Potters said at once, and Ayla nodded, following them up to McGonagall's office. She looked shocked and slightly annoyed to see them at this time of night, just before curfew.

"We wanted to talk to you about missing school for a few days," James said, walking past her into the office. Ayla, Lily, and Albus followed, and they all sat down in front of McGonagall's desk.

This increased the look of annoyance on her face and her lips spread thinner.

"We have...a funeral to go to," Albus said strongly. "Our Great-Grandfather. Septimus Weasley; you might know him."

McGonagall's face fell, and it was the first time that any of them had seen an expression other than anger on her face. "Yes, I did know him," she said quietly. "How long do you need to be excused?" She asked, taking out her quill readily.

"Is the next three days okay?" Lily asked feebly and McGonagall nodded quickly, scribbling her signature on the paper.

"Will you be joining them, Miss Torres?" She asked and the Potters nodded.

"We need her there," Albus begged.

"And I think all of our family will probably be coming," James told her. "They don't know yet."

"Very well," McGonagall agreed, handing them the paper. "I'm very sorry for your loss."

Lily, James, and Albus awoke all of their cousins at Hogwarts and spent the night in the common room reminiscing about Septimus Weasley. Ayla rode on the Hogwarts express with them (which McGonagall had specifically sent for them) and served as their source of comfort during the funeral. The great-grandchildren of Setpimus all gathered together to deliver the eulogy and did everything they could do to comfort their Grandfather, Arthur, who was entirely inconsolable. Not even a discussion on muggles that Albus asked Ayla to initiate could cheer him up.

The day after the funeral, they returned to Hogwarts where they attempted to return to their normal schedules.

Albus spent most of his time for a few weeks with Ayla, recounting his memories of his great grandfather to her. Lily spent her free time in her dormitory and even James had been slacking on his pranking.

"I think it was just shocking," Albus explained to Ayla as they sat in his dormitory. "I mean, you know this, we're very 'one-big-happy-family' and I've really never lost a family member. I think it just pointed out that even the closest of families can fall apart."

With the help of their friends and many letters from their families, they slowly recovered from the pain and moved on from the grieving stage. By this time, it was close to Christmas, which could be part of what lifted their spirits.

"Hogsmeade?" Ayla offered on the last Saturday before Christmas. Her friends agreed and she headed to the village with Albus, Lily, James, Liam, Brad, and Hugo.

"Hey, guys, guess what?" Bradley said as they walked. "I'm up to one year with Natasha."

"Uh-huh, and where is she?" Hugo inquired, raising his eyebrows and Brad shrugged. "See, you guys hardly talk," he pointed out.

"We talk, we just...just because we don't spend every single second together doesn't mean we don't have a good relationship," he argued.

"Mate, just admit it," Liam said. "Your relationship is all about the physical stuff."

"Not all-" Brad protested and Liam gave him a look. "Okay, yeah, mostly."

James snorted and looked away.

"Oh, yeah, James, as if you haven't had an all-physical relationship!" Bradley sneered sardonically.

"Sure I have, but not for a year!" James answered.

"What, so it's bad that I'm staying with her?" He demanded.

"No, Brad, it's good that you're staying with her; it's bad that you don't talk to her," Hugo explained.

"Alright, whatever, but physical stuff isn't bad. In fact, it's good. It's really good," said Brad.

"Well, yeah, obviously!" Hugo responded. "But you have to talk to each other, too. I mean, look at Ayla and Albus. They have, like, the world's most perfect relationship. And we've all seen them in action; there's obviously a lot of physical stuff." Ayla blushed furiously and Albus put his arm around her, laughing. "But they talk all the time, too. You've got to have a mix, mate, it's not one of the other."

"You're one to talk, Hugo, I don't see any dates on your schedule."

Hugo's face turned almost as red as his hair and he broke eye contact.

"Ooh, looks like Hugo's got a crush!" Lily exclaimed, nudging him with her shoulder and giggling.

"N-no I don't," he stammered, his ears reddening as well.

"Who is it?" Lily squealed, grabbing his arm. "Oh, let me guess! Umm...is she in Gryffindor?"

"Yeah," Hugo murmured.

"Our year?" Lily inquired and he nodded. "Is it that girl that sits behind you in potions?"

Hugo raised an eyebrow, glancing at her. "What girl that sits behind me in potions?"

"No?" Lily asked, diving back into deep thought. "Ooh, that girl in our History of Magic class!"

"There's, like, twenty girls in our History of Magic class. You're going to have to narrow it down for me."

"You know the one," Lily said, snapping her fingers as she tried to remember the name. "The one that sits in the corner! She's got light brown hair, freckles..."

Hugo blushed crimson, and looked down at his shoes.

"Oh, my god, it is her!" Lily shrieked, jumping up and down. "Yes!"

"We should set you up!" Ayla exclaimed and Hugo laughed once and declined.

"Why not, buddy?" Albus asked, punching him lightly in the shoulder.

The group entered the Three Broomsticks and found a table while Hugo silently refused to answer. They ordered butterbeers all around, and the hot liquid warmed them up from the frigid weather outside.

After they left the Three Broomsticks, they spent several hours on their Christmas shopping, and headed back to the castle right before dinner.

On Christmas day, they opened presents in their pajamas like they had the year before. Ayla sat on a recliner with Albus, lying across his lap.

Among her pile of presents from her friends, Ayla's favorite was from Albus: a beautiful pendant in the shape of a unicorn with a hawk flying above it.

Ayla's eyes filled with tears when she saw it. "Oh, my god, Al, I love it," she said in awe, holding it up and watching the light gleam on it. She kissed him slowly and gave him a tight hug, thanking him.

"Are we going to learn the significance of that?" Lily asked from her chair as she sorted her presents.

Ayla twisted around and beamed at Albus. "Um, a few weeks ago, Albus and I were practicing patronuses. I read about them, and I wanted to try it. My corporeal patronus is a unicorn and Albus's is a hawk." Ayla could hardly keep her voice from breaking as she explained the meaning of the pendant.

Albus was gazing at his own present from Ayla, his heart swelling in joy. She had gotten him a broomstick kit-the greatest broomstick kit, made by the same company as his exquisite broom-and the snitch from the Quidditch match they had played together with their names engraved on it.

His heart swelled even more as he flashed back to that day that they had played Quidditch; how amazing Ayla had been, how suddenly and strongly his feelings for her developed.

Ayla put the pendant from Albus on her necklace chain, fiddling with it subconsciously as they sat in the common room.

The Christmas feast-which everyone wore their pajamas to-was incredible. There was nearly twice as much food as usual, and the teachers at the High Table had drunken more than they generally did at the feasts. Ayla and Albus watched, laughing, as Hagrid nearly knocked over the table as he stood up suddenly to hug Professor McGonagall, stumbling on the way over. Professor Ackerley had moved from the Ravenclaw table to the Gryffindor table, and several girls were fawning over him.

"I have never seen the teachers this drunk before," Ayla whispered to Albus through her giggles.

"I know!" Albus returned, laughing loudly. "It's hilarious!"

Professor Ackerley fell flat on his face as he made his way back up to the High Table, and the other teachers were too overcome with laughter to help him.

"This is the best feast I've had at Hogwarts ever," Albus declared.

"Agreed," James announced with a guffaw. He took a swig from his goblet and Ayla raise her eyebrows. She picked up James's goblet and sniffed the fluid inside, flinching as she did.

"Wow, that's strong," she said, setting it back down. "James, what is in that?"

James shrugged, taking another swig. "Who cares, it works, right?"

Ayla laughed, sipping her own pumpkin juice. She and Albus had to help James up to the common room after the feast, for his legs gave way when he tried to walk on his own. They hoisted him through the portrait hole and set him down in an armchair. Albus smacked his shoulder in a brotherly way.

"Enjoy the sobering process," he told him. "See you tomorrow morning."

Ayla and Albus returned to his empty dormitory.

"All of my roommates went home for the holidays," he explained, flopping down on his bed. Ayla laid down next to him, propping herself up on her elbow.

"Thank you for the pendant. I love it." She kissed him once, then moved on top of him and kissed him more. The snogging went on for nearly an hour before Ayla pulled back. Albus looked up at her as she ran a hand through her tousled hair. "I love you," she said.

"I love you, too," Albus breathed. "Merry Christmas, Ayla."

"Merry Christmas, Al." She rested her head on Albus's chest and they fell asleep.

The following morning, Ayla and Albus crept into the common room to see James, still asleep in the armchair. Albus tossed a pillow at him and they sat on the couch opposite him for a few moments until he awoke.

James sat up groggily, opening his eyes and squeezing them shot a second later as the sun hit them through the window. "Ahh," he hissed in pain, pressing his palm to his head. "What the hell happened?" He murmured, rubbing his eyes. Ayla passed him a glass of water. James downed it in one go, then set down the empty glass. "How much did I drink?"

"We have no idea," Albus said honestly. "But I'm guessing a lot."

James groaned, pressing his fingers against his temple. "Wow, how drunk did I get?"

Albus looked at Ayla, suppressing his laughter. "Pretty drunk."

"You, uh, you...danced on the staff table," Ayla said quietly. "And then you insisted that McGonagall called you J-ster. And you hit on just about every girl in the Great Hall."

James smirked. "Well, that I would do anyway."

"Including McGonagall," Ayla finished and James winced.

"Yikes," he managed. "On a scale from funny to dead, how much trouble am I in?"

Ayla gestured toward the portrait hole uncertainly. "McGonagall wanted to see you first thing in the morning."

James stood up, clasping his head in pain, and stumbled to the door.

Ayla let out a quiet laugh and Albus joined, running a hand over his mussed hair.

"Have I ever told you how cute you are with bed head?" Ayla asked him, ruffling his hair.

"Once," Albus said, kissing her.

"Get a room," Hugo grumbled jokingly as he entered the common room. He sat down across from them. "Did The J-ster wake up?"

"He's in McGonagall's," Ayla answered.

James ended up with a week of detention, which he considered to be getting off easy, and guessed that the teachers had forgotten some of his behavior due to their own drinking.

The rest of he holiday break went by quickly, and the New Year's feast was nearly as good as Christmas. By that point, Ayla was cramming for their first term finals set to take place at the end of January.

She spent most of her time in the library with Albus, or studying in her dormitory. Lily walked over one day, just a week before finals, and slammed Ayla's History of Magic textbook shut. Ayla looked up and yelped in protest as Lily hauled the book away and locked it in her dresser.

"Ayla, you are going to drive yourself mad, you've been studying for weeks. Take a break; come to Hogsmeade!"

"Hogsmeade?" Ayla repeated incredulously. "Exams are in one week!"

"And you've been studying nonstop for weeks. You deserve a break. Now come on, I'm not taking no for an answer." She grabbed Ayla's arms and pulled her to her feet, dragging her into the common room.

"Hey, she's alive!" James joked theatrically.

"How's the studying going?" Albus asked as they walked, draping his arm around her shoulders.

"I still have so much to do; I can't believe I'm taking a break, I-"

"Come on, it'll be fun!" He grabbed her hands and kissed her forehead. "Don't be worried; you always do amazingly on your exams."

"That's because I study and I don't take breaks!" Ayla protested, but she knew she had lost the battle. Albus laughed and kissed her as they entered the village.

As Lily, James, Hugo, Liam, and Brad entered the Three Broomsticks, Albus told them that they would be in later, pulling Ayla away.

"Where are we going?" Ayla called as Albus darted down the path. He finally stopped in front of the frozen-over lake that they had once skated on. Ayla's lips spread into a smile as Albus grabbed her hands and pulled her out onto the ice.

"Hey, you've gotten better at this!" Ayla exclaimed as Albus glided across the ice without falling. He finally slipped and she caught him, straightening him up and kissing him. When she pulled back, Albus wrapped his arms around her waist, gazing at her.

"Your birthday is this week," he mused. "We need to figure out something special to do for you."

She bit her lip, raising onto her tiptoes. "Well, um, I think I might have figured it out," she admitted. He looked at her, intrigued. "I was thinking we could...move to the next level. If you want to," she added hastily.

Albus gulped, blush creeping up his next. "R-really?" He asked, his voice breaking. Ayla nodded, biting her lip in anticipation. Al's face burst into a grin. "Alright!"

He kissed her as they stood in the middle of the frozen lake, just as he had done nearly a year ago.

X.

Ayla had two things to be nervous for on her birthday: her Potions exam and her night with Albus. She had already taken her other three exams on the previous days in the week, and had one single exam left.

The Potions exam was easier than she had thought, and she left feeling confident in her scores and relieved to be done with her exams.

Lily, Brad, Hugo, and Liam cheered as they left the classroom.

"Done with our exams!" Brad hooted. "Until June," he added, his fine dropping.

Ayla stood in her dormitory that night, looking in the mirror as she brushed her hair.

"You look nice, birthday girl!" Lily noted as she entered. "Is Al taking you out for your birthday dinner?"

Ayla smiled at her and nodded. She looked in the mirror one last time before leaving to meet Albus. He was standing in the dormitory, facing the other way. He turned when he saw her and his breath was taken.

"You look amazing," he told her. Once he had laid his eyes on her formfitting purple dress, it was nearly impossible to look away.

"You do, too," she breathed, looking at his slim black suit. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," he said mysteriously, leading her out of the castle and off Hogwarts grounds. They strolled along the sidewalk until they reached a quaint, formal restaurant. Albus held the door for her and she entered the restaurant.

"Hi, table for two, please. It's under Potter," Albus requested to the host, who led them to their table.

"This place looks great, Albus," she said sincerely, looking around. "Thank you."

"Happy birthday, Ayla."

Later in the evening, the employees all marched together to their table and began to sing happy birthday to Ayla, causing several people to crane their necks to see whose birthday was being celebrated. She blushed furiously, looking down at the cake that they had brought out.

"When did you arrange that?" Ayla asked, grinning at him.

"When I made the reservation," he replied simply, returning the smile. He reached across the table and took her hand. "I love you, Ayla."

"I love you, too," she said, squeezing his hand.

As they left dinner, Albus draped his jacket around Ayla's shoulders, wrapping his arm around her t

eep her warm. They returned to the castle and entered the room of requirement. Ayla gazed at Albus as he lit the candles across the room. Ayla sat back on the bed and Albus joined her, molding his lips with hers. She laid on top of him, kissing him passionately until Albus reversed their positions and gazed down at her.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked sincerely. "If you're not absolutely sure, we don't have to do anything."

She sat up, resting her hand on his bare chest. "I'm sure," she told him. "I'm in love with you and I want to do this."

He returned his lips to hers, pressing her down against the soft mattress in the most perfect moment of his life.


	31. Chapter 31

Several weeks later, in the middle of March, as the weather began to get warmer, Ayla spent much of her time studying along the side of the black lake. Since Ayla's birthday, a lot had changed at the castle. Albus had turned fifteen last week, and Brad and Natasha had recently broken up. They wouldn't share the details of it, but Ayla knew that Brad had broken up with Natasha, though she had overheard Natasha telling people that it had gone the other way around.

Ayla pushed open the front doors of the castle and was on her way down to the black lake when she dropped her books. "Klutz," she muttered to herself, bending down to pick up her textbooks.

"Here," came a voice. Ayla looked up to see Natasha holding out her Potions book, which had skidded forward.

"Thanks," Ayla said calmly, taking the book from her and piling onto her other ones.

"Maybe you should invest in a bag," Natasha suggested. "With all of mommy's money, I would have guessed you'd have one that was embroidered with diamonds or something."

Ayla pursed her lips, turning towards her. "Why does my family's economic status impact you, Natasha?"

"You know what, Ayla? If you want the truth, it's just another thing that adds to the list of reasons why I'm jealous of you, okay? You've grown up with more money than you know what to do with, and it's always there to back you up in case you fail. You've never had to work for anything in your life-"

"I don't have to work for anything?" Ayla repeated. "What, you think getting my father sent to prison wasn't work? Coming up with lies to explain why I was always injured because I knew my father would kill me if anyone found out; you think that was easy? How about being at the top of my class even when there was no one to take me to school and all my time at home was spent getting the crap beat out of me by my father?"

"But everything just comes to you so naturally! I would give anything to have what you have! When we were little, you were the best Quidditch player at Sunnydale. You were the first one there to do magic. Your grades now are better than everyone else's, and you've got boys fawning over you left and right!" She took a deep breath, staring at Ayla. "I think we need to hash things out between us."

"You really want to get into this?" Ayla asked, crossing her arms. "Because if we're listing the reasons we don't get along, I've got a long list."

The volume of Natasha's voice shot up as she released her pent-up anger towards Ayla. "I'm sick of living in your shadows, Ayla! You've always been the one to outshine me; no matter how well I do at something, _Ayla Torres _always does better! Do you know what I would give to have what you have? I'm failing two classes and if I flunk out of Hogwarts, my parents can't afford to send me somewhere else. If it happened to you, your mom would be able to send you anywhere you wanted to go, but it's not like you have to worry about in anyway, bexause you're _perfect_." she sighed and her voice lowered. "I was supposed to be your best friend back at Sunnydale; I expected us to do everything together. And then you performed your first spell and...I don't know, I felt left out. I felt like you were moving on and leaving me behind."

"But, Natasha, I _wasn't _leaving you behind. Just because I did my first piece of magic doesn't mean I didn't want to be friends anymore. _You _left _me_, not the other way around. And then you charmed Mrs. Ramsay, and..."

"I was trying to protect you!" Natasha bellowed.

"Oh, wow, I _can't _wait to hear how that was supposed to help me!" Ayla said dryly.

"Yeah, the room up for grabs was nicer but the security down there is a lot less tight. If you moved down there and your father came in...he could have done worse things, Ayla. I don't know, he could have...brought a weapon, or came with more people."

Ayla shook her head, looking away. "So, you're claiming you wanted to protect me from my father, and yet you called him to tell him I was playing Quidditch and asked him to come for me. You knew what he was doing to me and you knew what he would do when he found out, but you called him anyway!"

"Okay, yes, Ayla, I knew that he was abusive. But if I had known that he would come and make everyone at Sunnydale watch while he-"

"Don't say it," Ayla whispered, her voice shaking with tears.

Natasha took a deep breath. "If I had known he was going to do that, I never would have called him, and I'm _sorry_. I promise, Ayla, you've got to believe me."

Ayla looked at her, feeling a mix of anger, confusion, and sadness. "You're just reaching out to me because Bradley broke up with you and now you have no one."

"I'm reaching out to you because I made a mistake."

Before Ayla could answer, an unfamiliar voice interrupted them.

"Hi. Are you Ayla?"

Both girls turned to see a middle-aged man in jeans and a tight white shirt.

"Yeah, who are you?" Ayla asked, her hand tightening on her wand in the pockets of her robes.

"I'm Steven Peterson; I was an inmate of your father's."

Ayla immediately whipped out her wand, holding it threateningly at the man, who held his hands up innocently.

"Calm down; I'm not here for what you think," he said slowly.

"What do you want?" Ayla demanded, receiving no answer. "_What did you come here for_?" The man still did not answer and Ayla raised her voice. "DID YOU COME HERE TO KILL ME?"

The man finally spoke, taking a small step towards her. "I came her to warn you."

Ayla lowered her wand slightly but kept it pointed lightly at the man. She narrowed her eyes, waiting for an explanation. "Did he send you here?"

"No," Steven replied. "And if he knew I was here, he'd probably kill me too."

"Too?" Ayla repeated in horror, her blood running cold.

"Your father has an escape plan. He's going to come and find you, and when he does, he'll kill anyone who stands in the way of you; believe me."

"What are you saying?" Ayla asked shakily, afraid to hear the answer.

Before the man could answer, Natasha cut in. "How did you find this place? The school, I mean."

"Oh, I'm a wizard," the man explained.

"That's...not possible," Natasha argued. "Ayla's father was in a muggle prison."

Steven shook his head. "That prison is for wizards who have committed muggle crimes. Even though her father is a muggle, they sent him there because they were worried he might tell the muggles about wizardry."

Natasha glanced at Ayla, who repeated her previous question. "What are you saying?" She asked him. "What are you telling me to do?"

"I'm warning you that nobody is safe. You can't be around your friends or he'll kill them first. He's been watching you, Ayla. He knows everything and everyone, and he's willing to kill them all. Starting with your boyfriend."

Ayla's knees gave way and she stumbled back. "Albus," she whispered, her heart sinking.

The man nodded. "Either you let him go yourself, or Richard kills him too. Up to you." He backed away, nodding at Ayla. "Consider yourself warned." He left and Ayla collapsed onto the ground, her head spinning.

"Oh, my God. He's going to kill Albus," Ayla whispered in horror.

"Not if we can help it," Natasha said, pulling Ayla roughly to her feet. "You need to break up with him now. You can explain it once it's all over, but you heard Steven. Your father is watching and he knows what's happening. Let Albus go, and then we'll take care of Richard." Ayla stared at her in shock and Natasha gestured for her to hurry. "Ayla, go!"

Ayla bolted into the castle and up to Gryffindor tower. He heart pounded in her chest as she knocked on Albus's dormitory door. One of his roommates, Seth, answered.

"Is Albus here?" Ayla asked, wringing her hands anxiously.

"Yeah, he's in the shower. Come on in."

Ayla sat down on Albus's bed, her stomach flipping with nerves and her eyes hurting from holding in her tears. Seth flopped down on his bed and continued his homework.

Ayla looked at Albus's nightstand, where she saw a framed photograph of the two of them. Albus and Ayla were waving in the photo and Ayla was leaning in to kiss his cheek. She sniffled as her eyes welled up with tears, looking away from the picture.

"Are you...crying?" Seth asked, peering up from his textbook.

"No, I'm fine," Ayla mumbled, wiping her eyes. Seth looked back at his homework awkwardly.

The bathroom door opened and Albus walked out with a towel around his waist. "Ayla!" He exclaimed, surprised. "Are you okay?"

"Uh, not really. Can I talk to you?"

"Of course, baby, what's wrong?" He asked, concerned.

"I'll tell you in a second. I'll wait outside." Ayla stepped out, closing the dormitory door behind her and waiting in the empty common room, pacing back and forth anxiously. Albus stepped out a moment later, buttoning his shirt.

"Ayla, what happened?" He asked, taking her hands.

Ayla took a deep, shaky breath, looking up at his piercing green eyes, and her own eyes filled with tears. "Albus," she began, her voice trembling. "I think we need to break up. It's just that...you deserve better than to be tied down by me. All I've ever done is complicate your life and you deserve better than that."

"Wh-Ayla, what are you talking about? I-I don't _want _better than that; I want _you. _Where is all this coming from; what gave you the idea that I feel tied down? Ayla, I'm in love with you, and-"

Ayla let out another shaky breath, tears streaming down her face. "I just...I've never been so close with someone before, Albus, and...I don't know, I'm scared."

"Scared of _what_, Ayla?" He asked gently.

Knowing she couldn't tell him the truth about her father, she wiped away her tears and tried to think of something. "I'm scared that I love you too much, Albus. And I can't stand to think of losing you."

"You're not going to lose me; what are you talking about?"

"I just can't, Albus. I can't be with you right now. I love you so much."

"Then why can't you stay with me?" He asked, his voice breaking, tears streaming down his face.

"I just need to be alone right now."

"Ayla, did something happen?" He asked, stepping towards her. "Because I'll protect you, whatever it is, I won't let anything bad happen to you."

"Can I ask you for one last thing?" Ayla asked, barely holding in her sobs.

"Anything, Ayla, what is it?" Albus asked, his chest aching.

"Try to move on," she begged and his face fell. Ayla looked up at him through her tears, resting her hand gently on his cheek. She kissed him slowly and pulled back, gazing up at him one last time. "I love you. But I have to let you go. And I need you to let me go, too." Then she dashed out of the common room before Albus's saw her truly break down. Before he found out the truth behind what happened. Before she lost the strength to leave him.

"Did you do it?" Natasha demanded as Ayla bolted from the common room.

She nodded, sobbing, and sunk to the floor, head buried in her hands.

"While you were gone, I...I called the prison your father was staying in. I asked them to move him to a different prison; I told them that you didn't want to live so close to him. Apparently, they're already moving a few guys out because of some overcrowding, so they're going to bring him along. They leave in an hour."

Ayla pulled her head up out of her hands, her face streaked with tears, her mouth open in realization. "That's the escape plan..." She murmured.

"What? What are you talking about?" Natasha demanded.

"My father knew that this would happen. He sent that guy out to come and warn me, knowing that I-or someone else-would request a prison change when I found out he had an escape plan. He's going to escape while they're trying to move him to a different prison! That was the escape plan all along!"

Natasha's face twisted in horror. "So...I just assisted in a prison escape plan?"

"He's going to come for me," Ayla said dully. "And he's going to kill everyone else to get to me."

"What do we do?" Natasha demanded urgently.

"We've got to figure out how to fight him off." She stood up, looking at Natasha, snapping out of her depression to focus on what was at stake. "Okay, is there anyone currently at Hogwarts-older than us-who was at Sunnydale with us?"

"Um, yeah, there's a fifth-year named Clara and a seventh-year named Matt; do you remember them?"

"Yes!" Ayla exclaimed, snapping her fingers. "They can help; they know my father and they know what we're up against. Okay, you go find them; I'll work up a plan."

Natasha sprinted into the common room to find Clara and Matt, hoping they would be in their dormitories. Ayla paced back and forth, murmuring to herself, thinking of a plan to catch her father before he could hurt anyone. Natasha returned a few minute later with Clara and Matt.

"What's going on?" Matt demanded. He was a tall, burly, seventeen-year old with brown hair and steely eyes, and right now he looked more menacing than ever.

"My father is about to escape from prison, and he's going to kill me," Ayla said matter-of-factly. "As well as anyone who stands in the way of him killing me. I have a plan. But I need your help."

"Of course," Clara responded. "What's the plan?"

"Okay, so we all know that one police officer won't be able to catch him. And we can't tip off the cops saying that he has an escape plan because we have no proof. So instead of finding a cop to catch him here, we need a way to keep Richard away from Hogwarts. Something to scare him off," Ayla explained.

"Yeah, but what kind of thing would scare _him_?" Matt demanded.

"A police officer," Ayla replied simply. "He can't run into any cops; he's on a prison escape."

"So...we're going to find a police officer to scare him off, but not catch him, and then you want to fight him off? What cop is going to stand here just to scare him?" Matt argued skeptically.

"Not a real one," Ayla said wickedly, and the three of them stared at her. "We need polyjuice potion."

"But, Ayla, that takes months to brew," Clara put in and Matt gestured towards her in agreement.

"There's a seventh year advanced potions class that's brewing them right now. Matt, do you think that you could convince one of them to let us use it? Or steal it?"

"Yeah, I can do that," Matt agreed.

"And Clara, I'll need someone's hair who looks like they could be a cop. A professor or someone, because we all look too young. Do you think you can get hair off someone to put in the polyjuice potion?"

Clara bit her lip nervously, but nodded.

"Hogwarts has one security guard," Ayla explained. "Natasha, I need you to come with me. We need to find out where his room is so we can sneak in and grab a uniform."

"What if he notices it's missing?" Natasha protested.

"I know a duplication spell; I just need to see the uniform so I can duplicate it. There's a castle directory in the janitor's office. I just need to find out what room the guard stays in and then I can sneak in. But I need a look-out."

Natasha nodded at her and Ayla looked at the three people in front of her.

"Alright. Everyone go. Meet in the entrance hall when we're done," she instructed, dashing to the janitor's office with Natasha while Matt and Clara ran off in separate directions. "Okay," she said to Natasha as they neared the office. "I need you to distract him while I find the directory. You knock on the door, and tell him that someone is exploding stink bombs down the hall, and lead him there. I'll go into the office while you're walking with him. When he realizes that you were lying, jut _run_, and I'll meet you outside the Great Hall."

"Got it," said Natasha, raising her fist to the door. Ayla ducked around the corner and listened as Natasha rapped on the door.

"What do you want?" The janitor, Kiche, demanded.

"Somebody is exploding stink bombs down the hallway and it's _disgusting_!" Natasha complained.

"I didn't notice nothin'," he grumbled in return.

"Seriously, come on! I'm _trying _to study, but I can barely even walk to the library; there's such a big mess!"

Ayla listened as he grunted for Natasha to lead him to the mess. Ayla peered around the corner to see Natasha and Kiche with their backs to her, walking down the hallway. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching, and crept into his office. She opened the top drawer on the left, sifting through a pile of papers as quickly as she could. Finding nothing, she moved on to the second drawer down, still to no avail. The bottom drawer was empty and she moved on to the right side. Taped to the inside of the top drawer on the right was a sheet of paper with small font in two columns. The left column contained names of staff members, and the right column contained their room number. _Jackpot. _Ayla skimmed the list until she found _Deputy Sanderson_, and traced the line with her finger to see the number _428_.

Ayla heard a key twisting the lock and cursed under her breath. She slammed the door shut and sat in the seat across from the desk, trying to look innocent. Kiche entered, grumbling about students lying. He jumped when he saw her.

"What the hell are you doing in my office?" He demanded.

"I was, uh, waiting for you, because I wanted to talk to you about..." She looked around, hoping to see something that would help her think of an excuse. She saw the light above her flickering and turned back to Kiche. "A light in my dormitory is out."

"You can't use magic to fix it?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, um, I _could_, but...I mean, if we use magic for _everything_, then how do we experience the most simple things in life?" She rambled, hoping her explanation sounded better to Kiche than it did to her.

"Uh...alright," he said, taking out a pen. "What's your dormitory number?"

"Oh, you know what?" Ayla said suddenly, smacking her palm to her forehead, pretending to have a random realization. "I just remembered...I had it fixed yesterday. Gosh, my memory is terrible. I'm so sorry to bother you; I'll just be going now!" Before he could respond, Ayla barreled out of the room and towards the Great Hall where Natasha was pacing anxiously.

"What took you so long?" She demanded and Ayla came to a stop, catching her breath.

"He caught me in there and I had to pretend there was a problem with my dormitory," she explained. Matt entered just then, holding a flask in his left hand.

"I could only get a little bit, but it should work for a little while. Are we just waiting for Clara?"

Ayla nodded and the three of them waited until they could see Clara's blonde head rushing towards them down the hallway.

"Whose hair did you get?" Ayla asked and Clara held up a chunk of dark hair.

"Professor Ackerley's. And it was _not _easy." She rested her hands on her knees, panting.

"Now I've got to sneak into room 428," Ayla declared.

"Do the staff members stay in dormitories?" Matt asked and Ayla shook her head.

"They have single rooms to themselves, but basically the same thing." She looked around nervously. "So, room 428 is three floors below and a few windows over from a window in the seventh-year guys' dormitory. That's the closest window to it in Gryffindor tower. Matt, can you make sure none of your roommates are in there and then I'll cut through and sneak out the window?"

"Yeah, sure, but..." He gave her a strange look. "What are you going to do, scale the wall?"

"There's a trellis that goes along the wall because of all the ivy that grows along the side of the castle; I'll just climb along that."

Matt looked at her nervously before nodding reluctantly. They ran up to Gryffindor tower and Matt opened the door to his dormitory, peered in, then shut the door.

"There's one guy in there-Kyle Ettinger. How do I get him to leave?" He hissed.

"Maybe if you just got him to go into the bathroom or something?" Ayla suggested.

"Oh yeah, that wouldn't sound weird!" Matt said sarcastically. "'_Hey, Kyle, can you please go pee?_"

Ayla sighed, crossing her arms. "You're right..." She muttered, thinking. "What if you, like, spilled something on him and then he had to go take a shower?"

"What am I supposed to do, just dump some pumpkin juice on him?" Matt demanded and Ayla thought deeply.

"Alright, then just tell him that someone wants to talk to him or something."

Matt looked around and Ayla could practically see the light bulb go on above his head. "That girl over there," Matt said in a hushed voice, gesturing to a girl with dark hair who has sitting alone on an armchair in the common room, "Kyle has a crush on her. Okay, you guys go stand over there somewhere while I tell him that she's sitting alone, and then I'll let you guys in."

Ayla nodded and she, Natasha, and Clara rushed to the other side of the common room, waiting casually while Matt entered the dormitory. A moment later, Kyle came bustling out of his dormitory and over to the girl in the armchair. Matt stuck his head out and beckoned for them to come in. He closed the door behind them and Ayla shoved open the window in the back. She stuck one leg out, shot an anxious look at Matt, Clara, and Natasha, and then stepped out onto the trellis leaning against the wall. She stepped carefully as she shimmied down the trellis until she reached floor four, then stepped between the window panes to reach room 428, where she peeked through the window, ensuring that it was empty. She pushed the window aside and slid into the room, creeping over to the closet and sifting through a pile of clothes until she found a security guard uniform. She held her wand to it, murmuring "_Geminio_," under her breath and ending up with two identical uniforms. She grabbed the duplicate and clambered back out of the window, studiously refusing to look down as she crept across the wall to reach the trellis, then scrambled back up into Matt's dormitory.

He spun around when he heard her at the window, grabbing her arms and helping her back in.

"Alright, now I just need to take the potion and get changed into the uniform. Come on." The four of them rushed out of the castle, ducked behind the Quidditch shed, and added the hairs to the potion. Ayla drank the potion and closed her eyes as she transformed into a look-alike of Professor Ackerley. She pulled on Sanderson's uniform, which was a little bit big on Professor Ackerely's frame. She quickly performed a shrinking spell that she had learned so that it fit properly. "Okay, does it look realistic?" She asked.

"Yeah, pretty good," Matt mused. "Now, come on, we've got to go. They've probably left already."

Ayla glanced at her watch and cursed. "We need to get to Cambridgeshire and follow them."

"How are we going to get there? We have hardly any time," Natasha protested.

"We'll borrow someone's broom," Ayla suggested, opening the door of the Quidditch shed. Her heart sank when she saw that it was empty.

"They're about to tear this shed down and build a new one," Matt explained. "They have all the students who have brooms keeping them in a supply closet somewhere in the castle."

"Should we go try and find it?" Clara asked.

"I forgot about that...My broom is in the supply closet, too, but I don't know where the closet is," Ayla said. "And we don't have time to look for it." Her eyes fell on a broom that someone had left along the side of the lake. "I guess we'll have to borrow that one."

"_One _broom for all four of us?" Matt demanded. "How would that work? We wouldn't have enough room to all sit on it."

Ayla picked up the broom and looked at him. "I guess we'll have to stand, then."

Clara looked at Matt nervously. "She's right; we'd take up less room that way."

"Yeah, but brooms aren't meant to hold four people," Matt argued.

"Well, we don't have any other plan, so it's worth a shot." Ayla held out the broom and all four of them stepped onto it, gripping each other's arms for balance as they left the ground. They soared through the forest, trying to keep level with the treetops so they wouldn't be seen. Ayla stood at the front, with Matt behind her, then Natasha, then Clara.

"Hey, Ayla?" Matt called over the sound of the wind.

"Yeah?" She yelled back.

"What exactly is our plan?"

"We're going to follow them, and when we see him try to escape, we land. He sees a cop and freaks out; he'll probably start running, and then we chase him."

"Uh-huh, and then what?"

"And then...we call the cops once we've got him somewhere he can't run away."

Matt paused for a moment. "Why can't we just use magic?"

"He was arrested under a muggle court. That means that when we catch him, we have to call the muggle police. We can't have used magic on him if the muggle police are going to show up. The only way we can use magic is if we use temporary spells, like stunning spells, just to buy some time."

"Alright, there's the prison up ahead!" Ayla announced, leaning to move the broom down slightly. She could see a van parked in front, and police officers loading prisoners into it. "Looks like they haven't left yet," she updated the others. Her blood ran cold and her stomach twisted when she saw two police officers guiding her father into the van.

"Is that him?" Matt asked quietly and Ayla nodded slowly. Matt put a cautious hand on her shoulder to make sure she wasn't about to do anything stupid.

As the van began to drive away, Ayla jerked the broom forward, flying above the roof of the car to follow it. As the car pulled out of the parking lot of the prison, Ayla saw one door slide open slightly. She watched in fear as one orange jumpsuit-covered leg poked out, followed by the other leg, and then her father had leapt from the vehicle and was barreling down the sidewalk unbeknownst to the driver of the van. She turned the broom sharply towards the ground and landed, chasing after him on foot.

"We need to be in front of him," Matt hissed. "That way, he'll see you and he'll be forced to stop."

"How are we supposed to get in front of him?" Ayla demanded. "Damn, he's fast!"

"He better be," Matt growled. "Here." He grabbed Ayla, Natasha, and Clara and apparated to the end of the street. "Sixth year served me well, I guess." He pulled Natasha and Clara behind a nearby building while Ayla stood stationed at the end of the street, waiting for Richard to see her. Sure enough, he rounded the corner and stopped dead when he saw the 'cop'. But a moment later, he spun on his heel and sprinted away as fast as he could. Ayla bolted after him, followed by Matt, Natasha, and Clara. Richard threw open the door of the first building he came to: an old hotel. The other four followed him in at breakneck speed, chasing him through the lobby and up a flight of steps.

"Ayla, you realize that if anyone sees you here, you could get arrested for impersonating a cop?" Natasha informed her as they ran.

"I know," Ayla said boldly. "That's why we need to get everyone out." And with that, she rammed her hand into the fire alarm on the wall next to her, sending an ear-splitting ring through the hotel. She sprinted after Richard, who was taking the opportunity to jump into an elevator. The doors had just closed as Ayla pressed the button and they slid open again to reveal Richard standing in the back corner. "Bad move," she said with a smirk. She pressed the button to stop the elevator and turned towards him full-on. "Deputy Sanderson," she introduced herself, gesturing towards the name-tag on the uniform.

Richard held up his hands, pressing himself to the back wall. "P-please don't-"

Ayla reached into the pocket of Deputy Sanderson's uniform to find a pair of handcuffs. She pulled them out, relief flooding through her. "Turn around and put your hands behind your back," she commanded in the huskiest voice she could manage.

"No," he returned.

"Did you just refuse a command from a police officer?" Matt demanded. "You're a fugitive; you don't get to call the shots here."

"You're a teenager; neither do you!" Richard spat.

"Clara, call the police," Ayla instructed as Matt removed his wand from his pocket.

"Stupefy!" Matt bellowed and Richard slumped to the floor. Matt turned him over roughly and Ayla locked him in the handcuffs as she transformed back into herself. She stood up and hugged Matt tightly, followed by Clara, and even Natasha.

"Thanks, guys," Ayla said, looking at her unconscious father. She stripped the police officer uniform off and wore her clothes from earlier that day, which she had shrunk down to fit into her pocket. She enlarged the clothes back to their original size and changed into them quickly.

Matt looked at the bloody spot on Richard's head where he had fallen after the stunning spell. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he'll think twice next time he wants to become a fugitive."

There was a pounding against the metal door of the elevator just as Richard began to wake up.

"Is anyone in there?" A voice bellowed.

Ayla un-stopped the elevator and the doors opened to reveal a group of firefighters.

"You know, it's a safety hazard to ride an elevator during a fire," one of the firefighters said scoldingly. "Although this was a false alarm, it's not a good habit to get into." He then caught sight of Richard, half-conscious, lying on the floor. "My God, what happened to him?" He demanded.

"We're waiting on the police," Ayla told him. "He's a fugitive."

All three firefighters immediately grabbed their walkie-talkies and began speaking into them.

"We already called the police; they should be here any minute," Ayla interrupted them.

Before the firefighters could respond, they heard the wail of sirens and a group of armed police officers entered.

As they dragged Richard out, he finally awoke completely and saw Ayla. The look of pure fury in his eyes was enough to make even the firefighters feel like passing out.

"It was you!" He hissed at Ayla, who stepped back behind Matt's protective arm. "I'll be back for you! This isn't over!" He bellowed as the cops loaded him into the police car.

As the car drove away, the firefighters connected the events they had just witnessed.

"That was a smart move of you; pulling the fire alarm," one of the firefighters told her and she smiled in thanks. "He's not going to bother you again; I'm sure the cops will take care of it."

"Thanks, sir," Ayla replied, shaking his hand. The firefighters left and Matt, Ayla, Natasha, and Clara went and found the broom and flew back to Hogwarts.

Exhausted, the four of them made their way back up to the common room. They entered the portrait hole and Matt and Clara left for their dormitories while Ayla and Natasha stood in the doorway.

Albus was sitting on the couch next to James, laughing at something his brother had said.

"Go get your man back," Natasha said to Ayla, giving her an encouraging pat on the shoulder.

Ayla took a deep breath, looking at the boy she loved most in the world, who looked as happy as ever. She shook her head. "He really does deserve better. I need to let him move on, even if it hurts."

"But he's safe now; you two can be together," Natasha said, confused.

"He's safe from my father, yeah. But all I ever did was complicate his life, and I want better for him." She sighed, crossing her arms. "You know what they say: _if you love someone, set them free _and all that." She looked over at Natasha. "Look, I know we'll never really get along, but

in a way, I think we're allies. And let's face it, we both need ?"

Natasha nodded and shook her hand. "I'm still going to be a bitch to you in front of our friends, you know. It's kind of fun," she said, pressing her lips together to hide her smile.

Ayla laughed. "Yeah, I don't doubt that." Her smile faded after a moment and she looked at Natasha seriously. "Thank you. For your help today."

Natasha nodded once. "You're not the only one he would've hurt. It wasn't all for you."

"Either way," said Ayla genuinely, "thank you."

X.

Albus laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling. James burst in and threw his curtains around his four-poster aside.

"Come on," he commanded, pulling his brother to his feet.

"What are you doing?" Albus grumbled as James dragged him out of his dormitory. He finally stopped in the common room in front of Hugo, Brad, Liam, and his roommate, Seth.

"We're taking you to The Three Broomsticks. You need to get over Ayla."

"I don't _want _to get over Ayla," Albus protested, pulling his arm from James's grasp.

"Well, you have to," James replied simply, pulling him from the common room, not letting go of him until they reached The Three Broomsticks and sat at the bar.

"Six firewhiskeys, please," James ordered for the group and Madam Rosmerta raised her eyebrows.

"No can do, James," she said, pinching his cheek.

"Come on, Madam Rosmerta," he begged. "Al's hurting; he just went through a breakup."

Madam Rosmerta looked around and sighed reluctantly. "Oh, alright, but you can't tell anyone."

James grinned at her and passed the firewhiskeys out to his friends.

"I don't want to get drunk, James," Albus said dully, staring at the mug.

"Come on, buddy, it's what you need!"

Albus scrunched up his face, wrinkling his nose as he took a long gulp. "Wow, that's good," he murmured, taking another sip.

"Yeah!" James cheered, clapping him on the back.

Albus downed the rest of it and it was quickly refilled by Madam Rosmerta. After several drinks, Albus and his friends stumbled out of the bar, hardly staying on their feet.

"I need to see Ayla!" Albus burst out. Bradley was consumed in drunken laughter, but James stopped dead.

"Mate, the point of this was to _forget _about Ayla!" James complained.

"I need to see her," Albus repeated. "I need to win her back!" He took of toward the castle. Seth and James chased after him frantically, while Brad, Hugo, and Liam looked around, wondering where everyone had went.

"Albus, stop, you don't know what you're doing!" Seth called, catching up to him and pushing his chest to keep him from entering the castle.

"Man, you're about to make a huge mistake!" James told him. "You've only just moved on; you're about to go right back to square one."

"I don't care," Albus said stubbornly, shoving past them. "I need to tell her how I feel." He burst into the common room and headed for Ayla's dormitory.

X.

For weeks, Ayla didn't see Albus at all. She spent all of her time outside of class in her dormitory. Based on what she had seen a few hours after they had broken up, she assumed that he had moved on. She was now sitting on her bed, looking through her Astronomy notes.

There was a loud knock on the door that sounded more like someone smacking their palm against the wood. She stood up, confused, and was on her way to answer the door when a voice came through it.

"Ayla! It's Al! I couldn't go any longer without telling you; I'm still in love with you and I want to get back together!"'

Ayla froze in shock, leaning back against the door for support.

"Hello?" He shouted, banging on the door again. His voice sounded slurred, like he was drunk. "I love you, Ayla! Are you there? I'm still in love with you; I always have been and I always will be!"

Speechless, Ayla's trembling hand rested above the doorknob, trying to figure out whether or not she should open it. Her knees gave way and she sank to the floor against the door.

X.

The next morning, James came to see Ayla about Albus.

"Oh, hey, James," she greeted him.

"So, Al came to see you last night," he prompted, raising his eyebrows. Ayla nodded awkwardly, closing the door.

"Yeah, he did." She turned to him, her face ashen. "Albus is drinking now?"

James shook his head, shoving his hands in his pockets. "It was my fault; I made him do it. It was just a one-time thing." He inhaled deeply. " So, what do you think? I mean, are you going to get back with him?"

Ayla took a deep breath. "I was just shocked. The night I broke up with him, I saw him in the common room, and he looked..._happy. _And then he said he was still in love with me. I just thought he'd moved on."

"Oh, come on, Ayla, don't be so thick," James said, looking at her. "He _knew _you were standing there that night; I told him to pretend to laugh so it seemed like he was okay with everything."

"Really?" Ayla asked in amazement and James gave her a look. "Seriously, I didn't know," she told him. "I thought he had just moved on really quickly."

James shook his head. "What about you?" He asked. "Have you moved on?"

"I broke up with Albus because I thought he would be happier without me, even if he didn't realize it. And...until last night, I thought he'd made so much progress. I don't know, I want to talk to him today. And I'll see what happens."

James nodded, stepping aside. "He's in the common room."

Ayla left her dormitory, walking over to Albus, wringing her hands nervously.

"Hey. We should, uh..,we should talk about last night," she said and he looked at her, nodding slowly.

"Yeah. What...what happened exactly? I really don't remember anything."

"Oh," Ayla said in shock. She smiled and shook her head. "N-nothing, really. Nothing to worry about.

"So, how have you been since...?" Albus asked, leaving the question open.

"Oh, um, yeah. I'm okay. Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I'm just glad things aren't awkward between us. Maybe we can just go back to the way things were before we dated?" He suggested. "We were great friends before we were together, so maybe we could try to get back to that," he said quietly, his chest aching.

Ayla smiled at him, remembering how they were before they started dating. "I'd like that," she agreed.

"Cool. Uh, dinner?" He suggested and she nodded, standing up. They walked down to the Great Hall. "Oh hey, I just wanted to let you know," he said on the way down the stairs. "I know you don't really have a place to go, so I was thinking...you should still stay with us over the summer. I mean, we're still best friends, so why not? It's not like it would be weird or anything."

"Oh, yeah, not weird at all," Ayla agreed hastily. "But I actually think I should go back to my house for the summer. I mean, I can come and visit whenever like everyone else, but I'll probably be living at my own house. As much as I don't like it there, I feel bad that I've only met my mom's husband once. I should be spending more time there, you know?"

Albus nodded. "Okay, yeah, sure. If you change your mind, though...I mean, you've still got a few months, so whatever you want."

Ayla smiled in thanks as they sat down in the Great Hall.

"Hey!" Lily and Brad both exclaimed when she saw the two of them together. Ayla shook her head and Lily's face fell. Ayla glanced between Lily and Brad, who rarely sat next to each other, and raised her eyebrows at Lily, who grimaced in return to deny Ayla's suspicion.

When they returned to the dormitories, Ayla sat down at the foot of Lily's bed, giving her a knowing look.

"You're disappointed, aren't you?" She asked softly and Lily's eyes welled up with tears. "You were expecting Brad to run straight to you after he broke up with Natasha."

"Maybe a little," Lily admitted, her voice breaking. Ayla hugged her comfortingly.

"Hey, maybe he just needs time," she said encouragingly. "He can still come to you; it's not like he has another girlfriend."

Lily pulled back, more tears flooding her eyes and she nodded sadly.

"He does _not_," Ayla said, her face ashen. "Oh, Lily, I'm so sorry, I had no idea."

"I don't know if it's anything serious," she said. "But they were snogging in the hallway."

"Do you want me to ask him," Ayla offered.

"Could you?" Lily asked, her teary eyes widening.

"Yeah, of course."

"But don't tell him I wanted to know! Just ask him casually, you know?" Lily said hastily and Ayla nodded.

"Be right back," she said, ducking out of the common room. She saw Brad sitting in the common room and walked over to him, perching on the couch next to him. "Hey."

"What's up?" He asked, turning to her.

"Saw you snogging that girl in the hallway today," she said, grinning and raising her eyebrows. "Anything special?"

He laughed once and looked away. "No, it was just a girl I was snogging. Nothing more."

"You're not dating or anything?" She prompted and he snorted.

"Dating? Please, I don't even remember her name."

Ayla's face contorted in disgust. "That's..._so _objectifying, Brad."

He shrugged. "She wasn't looking for anything more, either," he assured her. "I think," he added under his breath and Ayla stared at him. He looked at her and raised his hands. "Hey, I was in a relationship for a year. I was just...celebrating my newfound singleness." He changed the subject, looking over at her. "What about you and Albus?"

"What about us?" Ayla asked, looking away.

"After spending-what, three or four weeks?-in your room, how do you feel?"

She sighed, leaning back. "We're both moving on. That's how it is; it's over."

Brad raised his eyebrows, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. "So, how about Lily?"

Ayla turned to him, eyes widening slightly, intrigued. "What about her?" She asked with a grin.

"She's available, right?"

Ayla nodded excitedly.

"D'you think she'd be interested in me?" He asked, then smirked self-confidently. "What am I talking about; how could she not be?"

Ayla rolled her eyes at his attitude toward himself, but she couldn't help but smile. "I think she would be," she said firmly and Brad nodded.

"Sweet. Maybe I'll do something about that..." He mused. "Well, I'm going to bed."

"G'night," Ayla said distractedly, excited about the possibly of Lily's crush feeling the same way toward her. She rushed to her dormitory, beaming at Lily as she entered. "Okay, so it was just a random girl-which is good for you, bad for the poor girl-and he asked me about you!" She said excitedly and Lily's jaw dropped.

"What did he say?" She demanded.

"He asked if you were available, and if you'd be interested in him!" Ayla said quickly and Lily squealed, unable to refrain from jumping up and down.

They spent most of the night discussing Brad and hardly got any sleep. It wasn't until many weeks later, toward the end of the year, that Brad finally made his move.

Lily rushed into the dormitory, shutting Ayla's Defense Against the Dark Arts book, causing her to look up.

"Brad just asked me out!" Lily shrieked and Ayla jumped up, squealing in excitement.

"Oh, my gosh, Lily, that's amazing! Tell me everything!"

Needless to say, Lily was in an incredible mood even through finals week. On the last day of school, Ayla, Lily, Brad, Albus, James, Liam, and Hugo sat in the common room, their luggage stacked behind them. Brad's arm was rested on the back of Lily's chair.

José approached the group, his hands trembling and his eyes flooded with tears as he handed a letter to Ayla. She read it quickly and her face fell.

"What's wrong?" Albus asked softly, concern for her flooding through him.

"They couldn't find a home for him," Ayla said brokenly, wrapping her arms around José. And the orphanage is overcrowded. If he can't find a place to stay by tomorrow morning, they're sending him back to Sunnydale." She straightened José up and looked at him, her eyes filled with pity and sincerity.

"I can't go back to Sunnydale; I just can't!" He wailed, tears streaming down his face.

Albus watched sadly as José's tears fell and Ayla hugged him tightly.

"Don't worry," she whispered to him. "It'll be okay. I won't let them take you back there. You can stay with me."

"I'll need an authority figure to sign," he said, looking at the letter again. "Is there someone to sign it?"

Worry flashed across Ayla's face but she wiped it away before he could notice. "Yeah, I'll find someone," she assured him.

"Hey, if you can't," James said to Ayla as they left the common room to get on the train. "I'm and expert at signature fraud; I can help you out."

"Thanks, James," Ayla said sincerely. They reached the train and piled into a compartment while José went to find some of his friends. "Don't you have to ride up front with the other prefects?" Ayla asked James and he scoffed, shooting her a grin.

"And miss the _last _memory for the year with you guys? Hell, no!" He laughed. "I mean, what are they going to do, take away my prefect powers?" The group laughed and James settled into his seat. "So, what classes did you sign up for?" James asked everyone. Ayla sighed helplessly.

"All of them," Ayla responded and James raised an eyebrow.

"That's...not possible," he told her.

"Actually," Hugo said reluctantly. "It is. I told Ayla this during course selection week; my mum wanted to take all of the elective classes in her third year so she got a time turner from McGonagall."

Ayla flashed back to her conversation with McGonagall over the matter.

_She had entered McGonagall's office, waiting anxiously in front of her desk. McGonagall entered after a moment, looking surprised to see her_.

_"Miss Torres," she had greeted her. "What are you doing here?"_

_"I wanted to talk to you about course selection," she explained, and a very faint smile spread across McGonagall's lips. _

_"I take it you spoke to Mr. Weasley about this matter," she said calmly. _

_"Hugo might've mentioned something," Ayla admitted. _

_"As I'm sure he told you, it is possible to offer a time-turner to a student in order for them to manage more classes than the time table allows," she explained and Ayla nodded. "However," McGonagall continued strictly. "These are very dangerous devices and we only assign them to top-notch students that we feel we can trust whole-heartedly."_

_Ayla's stomach had sank. What was McGonagall saying? Was she implying the she _didn't _trust Ayla?_

_The same thin-lipped smile formed on her face and she looked at Ayla over her square glasses. __"Which you fit the criteria for perfectly."_

_Ayla beamed and McGonagall gave her a small nod. "The time-turner will be delivered to you over the summer via owl."_

_Ayla had thanked her profusely and left her office. _

"A time-turner?" Albus repeated in awe. "That's so cool!"

"Think we can borrow it sometime?" James asked wickedly, a glint in his eye. "Imagine what we could do with our pranking if we could use time-travel."

"Can't. Ministry's orders," Ayla said, grinning apologetically at James.

After a long and incredibly fun train ride that consisted of playing exploding snap, eating candy from the trolley, and discussing their plans for the summer, they came to a stop at King's Cross Station on Platform 9 3/4.

Albus approached Ayla nervously on the platform, separating from the group. He put his hands in his pockets and looked at her.

"You know, if you change your mind about this summer, and you need somewhere to stay, you can come by any time," he said genuinely and Ayla smiled. "There's always room for you at our house." He sniffled slightly, looking away.

"Thank you, Al. I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am for everything you've gotten me through, everything you've done for me."

"There's nothing I've ever done for you that I wouldn't do now even though we're not together. Even though we're not dating anymore, I'm still here for you _always_. You know that, right?"

Ayla nodded, smiling with teary eyes. "And you too, Albus, if you ever need anything, I'm here."

Albus hugged her tightly. "I'm glad were staying friends," he said as they embraced. "I couldn't lose you; not like that."

Ayla blinked away her tears and pulled back from the hug, smiling bracingly at him. "I'll see you this summer. And you'd better write," she added and he grinned.

"Until then," he agreed, giving her one last hug before they went to say goodbye to their friends.

Ayla hugged Lily, beaming at her.

"Make sure you write to me," Ayla said to her best friend. "I want to know everything."

"I promise that you will," Lily assured her, smiling hugely. She hugged Ayla again.

"Take care of my best friend," Ayla joked to Bradley and he grinned.

"All of you better visit," James said, looking around at his friends. "And that includes you, Brad, the only one who didn't visit last sumer."

"I will. I have a reason too now," he said, looking at Lily."

"Oh, we weren't enough for you before?" James joked, his face spread into a wide grin. "Oh, hey, Ayla, make sure you play Quidditch over the summer; don't get out of practice. I might be captain next year and our best Chaser just finished his seventh year, so he'll be gone. I'm gonna want you on the team."

Albus glanced at Ayla to see her reaction, ready to come to her defense if she needed it.

Ayla smiled strongly at Albus and looked back to James. "You know what, I think I will," She said.

"What about-" Albus began under his breath so the others couldn't hear him, moving over to Ayla.

"I'm letting go of my past," Ayla said, smiling. "I don't want to let it hold me back anymore."

"See, I've always known you belong on the Quidditch field," he told her with a smile and she grinned ear-to-ear.

"Alright, our parents have all been waiting for a while now," Lily realized, looking at her watch. "We should head back to Platform 9."

Ayla took one last glance back at the Hogwarts Express and stepped through the gateway back onto Platform 9. José was waiting for her on the other side. He stepped aside as she went to say hello to Harry and Ginny, who looked excited to see her.

"Will you be staying with us, dear?" Ginny asked and Ayla smiled at her.

"For now, I'm staying at my house, but Albus asked me to come and visit sometime."

"Well, please do, we'd love to have you," Ginny said kindly.

Ayla watched as Harry and Ginny gathered their kids and led them out of the station. Hugo hugged her goodbye and went to meet his family and he home. Liam's parents were next, who were taking Brad home as well.

"Good year?" Ayla asked José as they sat down on a bench to wait for her driver.

"Yeah, you?" He returned. Ayla gazed out into the distance, squinting slightly against the sun.

"The best," she said truthfully, unable to stop the smile that formed on her lips as another incredible year came to a close.

**Please review! Working on Chapter 32 now! :)**


	32. Chapter 32

Ayla descended the steps of her enormous house, and nearly stopped dead at the front door as she saw her mother's keys lying in the small container by the door. It was over halfway through the summer and her mother had not yet been home.

"Mamá?" She called, peering into the kitchen. She saw her mother standing at the counter, typing something into her phone. "Mamá!" She exclaimed, moving to hug her.

"Shh," her mother hissed sharply, gesturing to the earpiece in her left ear. Ayla pursed her lips and backed away, leaning against the counter to wait for her mother to get off the phone.

"Nice to see you too, mother," she mumbled under her breath. She listened as her mother spoke rapidly on the phone. She finally hung up and turned to Ayla.

"What are you wearing?" She demanded in Spanish, the only language she spoke, looking disapprovingly at Ayla's sweatshirt.

"You've seen me _once _in the last two years, and that's the only thing you have to say to me?" Ayla asked blankly.

"Well, get changed. We're going to dinner."

"Did you want to meet José?" Ayla offered. "I left you a bunch of voicemails about having him stay with us."

"I know. And I can meet him later. We're going to dinner now. Get changed."

Ayla sighed and headed back upstairs, changing into a sundress and returning downstairs. Her mother nodded in approval and led her to the garage, where they climbed in their driver, Hayden's, car. He dropped them off at a restaurant that Ayla used to frequent before she left for Hogwarts.

"Table for two, please," Ayla said to the hostess. "So what's going on?" She asked, switching back to Spanish, once they had sat down and the hostess had left.

"What makes you think that something is going on?" Her mother asked distractedly, scanning the menu.

"You don't take me places unless there's something you need to talk to me about. Especially not alone." She set down her menu. "Where's your husband?"

Her mother glared at her and Ayla sighed.

"_George_," she clarified and her mother set down her menu as well.

"He's at work. And I don't have bad news for you, if that's what you're worried about." She looked at Ayla. "Your father-"

"George is not my father," Ayla said tersely, looking away.

"He's your step-father," her mother said in what she must have thought was an authoritative voice.

Ayla snorted. "My step-father who I've met once."

"Fine. What would you like me to call him?"

"How about the same thing you've called every boyfriend that you've said would stick around for a while? Just call him by his name."

"_George _has introduced me to his ex-wife and her children," her mother began. "And I've been...seeing the relationship that he had with them, and the relationship she still has with them." She looked at Ayla and took a deep breath. "I've decided that I should be making family more important than I currently do."

Ayla snorted again and her mother ignored her.

"We're going to be speaking more and spending more time as a family," she declared and Ayla raised her eyebrows.

"What, like you, George, and I?" Ayla asked and her mother nodded.

"And I'd like to start by catching up. Tell me about Hogwarts. Any boys?"

Ayla could not help but crack a smile. "Well, I guess I should start with first year. I started dating this guy named Liam, but we broke up in the wintertime. And then I started dating Albus Potter." She smiled again, looking down. "Albus helped me through so much. We were dating until this spring, just a few months ago."

"Why?" Her mom asked quietly.

Ayla glanced up at her, then looked down again, unsure of whether or not she should tell her about Richard.

"I know, Ayla," her mother said, trying to make eye contact. Ayla's head snapped up.

"You know what?"

"I know that Richard escaped from prison. And that you got him sent back to jail."

"Yeah, well, it wasn't just me. I had help," Ayla mumbled. "How did you know?"

"It was on the news."

"Oh, you watch the news now?" Ayla teased, finally grinning at her mother, but she grew serious again after a moment.

"Is that why you broke up with him?" Her mom asked. "Because you thought Richard might hurt him?"

Ayla looked down again, nodding silently. "He doesn't know that that's why. I didn't tell him afterward either. I just...I feel like my whole life just...complicated his. And he should have better than that." She quickly brightened, looking up. "But it's okay, because we're still friends. I know that sounds cliché, but really, nothing has changed. Or maybe everything's changed; I don't know." She smiled helplessly, shaking her head. "But anyway, what about you? How's your fashion career search coming?"

Her mother smiled sadly at her, taking her hand. "I've decided to put that on hold. I've decided to put my own dreams on hold so that you can live yours. You've been putting your dreams on hold for me for your whole life. Now it's time for me to return the favor. You've always wanted a family, and I want to give that to you."

"Oh, god, you're not pregnant, are you?" Ayla asked in horror and her mother laughed.

"No, no, nothing like that." Ayla laughed once in relief. "I just meant that I'm going to be around more. You deserve a family, Ayla, with everything you've given up to have one."

Ayla blinked tears out of her eyes. "Oh, mom..." She took her hand again, looking at her. "Mom, you need to keep your career chase going. Don't give up your dreams for me; I don't want you to resent me. We can be a family even if you're halfway across the world. It's not the distance that kept us from being truly close before; it was just _us. _If we decide we want to be a family, we can be. No matter where we are."

Now it was her mother who had to wipe away her tears. "I love you, mi niña," she whispered, clasping Ayla's hands in hers. Ayla moved around the side of the table and hugged her mother tightly.

X.

Ayla sat at her desk, sifting through her letters to find the one Al had sent her a few days before. Lily had kept her promise to tell her everything about her relationship with Brad; Ayla had gotten an update for every date, their first kiss, and every letter they wrote to each other. She found the letter from Albus and read over it one more time.

_Ayla, _

_How's your summer going? How's your mom's husband? Hopefully they're not too intolerable for you! And if they are, you know where to go. We'd love to have you any time. My parents are taking us to Diagon Alley on August 15th. You could meet us there and then you and José can come home with us to stay until the school year starts. I really hope your summer is going well. _

_Love from the whole family! :) _

_-Albus _

_P.S. __Mom wants me to tell you again that you should come stay with us. She misses you. _

_P.P.S. you probably guessed, but I'm not a prefect. I didn't expect to be, but for some reason, James thinks I'm disappointed. _

Ayla smiled softly and set the letter down, holding her quill to her parchment, thinking of what to say.

X.

Albus was eating breakfast in the kitchen when the letter from Ayla came. He saw his owl fluttering outside the window and pushed aside the glass to let her in, grabbing the letter eagerly and tearing open the envelope

_Albus,_

_Thanks for the letter! Actually, I had an amazing conversation with my mom tonight. She's decided to keep family as a higher priority in her life. She even told me that she loves me. And I think I'm going to try to spend more time with her husband. I took José to a meeting with his social worker a few days ago and they've agreed never to put him back in Sunnydale. _

_I'd love to meet you at Diagon Alley on the 15th! I've been playing Quidditch with José. He's actually not a bad flyer. Thanks again for the offer to stay with you and I think I'll visit after Diagon Alley!_

_Love from Ayla!_

Albus smiled softly as he read the letter. Before he could respond, the door flung open and he saw James in the doorway.

"Knock much?" He said to his brother, who ignored his comment.

"Guess who I brought with me?" James said excitedly and Albus shrugged. James stepped aside to reveal a girl who had been standing behind him. Albus smiled politely at her and looked at his brother, waiting for an explanation. He blinked and James finally explained. "This is Roxy."

"Um, hi, Roxy," Albus said awkwardly. "If you don't mind, I need to talk to my brother alone."

"Sorry, Rox, you can just wait outside if that's alright," James said, resting his hand on the small of her back and guiding her out of the room. He closed the door behind her and turned back to his brother, who smacked his arm. "Ouch! Al, what the hell?"

"Who is she?" Albus hissed while James rubbed his arm in pain.

James made a strange noise to indicate that he didn't know. "I met her earlier today. Thought she'd help you get over Ayla."

"I don't want a hooker to help me get over Ayla!" Albus protested and James stared at him.

"She's not a—" he began and Albus raised his eyebrows.

"Where'd you meet her, James?" He asked dully, already knowing the answer.

"She was standing on the corner of the street outside that one bar, and—" he paused. "Okay, now I see it."

"Genius," Albus muttered sarcastically. "How did you not see it before? Who did you think she was?"

"I don't know, I just saw her and thought 'hey, she's hot! You know who else is hot? Ayla! And she's _almost _as hot as Ayla!' So I brought her here."

Albus shook his head in disbelief. "James, I don't want anyone to help me get over Ayla; prostitute or not. I want to move on at my own pace, alright?"

"Oh, where'd you get that from? _Top-ten-things-girls-say-after-breakups._com?" James said sardonically and Albus glared at him.

"Look, I've made a ton of progress so why are you trying to rush me along?"

James shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away. Albus nodded slowly.

"You want me to move on because you want to be with Ayla," Albus said softly. "What do you want, my blessing?"

James looked at his brother and then looked down at his shoes.

"Do whatever you want, James, just don't expect me to be happy for you," he snapped, brushing past him and slamming the door on his way out, walking straight past Roxy and out his front door.

_I'll tell this story to Ayla someday_, he thought as he sat down on his front porch. _Someday, I'll win her back and I'll tell her this story. _

X.

Albus replied the next day and Ayla opened the envelope excitedly.

_Ayla,_

_That's amazing! I'm so happy for you that your mom opened up to you! And we need to play Quidditch soon...tournament the day you get here? I've got a kickass broom though, so be careful! _

_Update: James is being an asshole again, parading around his prefect badge. Except now he's using it to get girls. And Lily has been in her room all the time all summer writing to Brad. _

_I can't wait to see you in Diagon Alley! _

_-Albus_

_P.S. Mom and Dad still miss you and they keep asking when you're going to visit._

Ayla grinned and grabbed her quill.

_Albus, _

_Thanks so much; I was really excited when it happened. I feel like things might be starting to look up! And I would LOVE_ _play Quidditch again! Anytime, Potter! _

_Wow, I can completely picture James doing that; hopefully it's working at least! And Lily's been keeping me posted on their relationship all summer. I'm so happy for them! _

_I can't wait to see you either! Tell your parents that I miss them too and I'm looking forward to seeing them! :)_

_Love from Ayla!_

Ayla set the letter aside while she quickly responded to letters from James and Lily, then sent all three responses to the Potter household with Athena. She turned back to her desk and dove back into her reading of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Three_. She studied until she fell asleep at her desk, her head resting against the book.

X.

On the morning of August 15th, Ayla woke up in an excellent mood. Her trunk was all packed up at the foot of her bed and her mother was driving her to London so that she could go to Diagon Alley.

Ayla got out of bed and dressed quickly, wheeling her trunk downstairs with her.

"Hey, mom!" She greeted her in fluid Spanish. Her mother turned and smiled when she saw her.

"Mi niña! All packed?"

"Yeah, I've got everything in my trunk," Ayla said happily, helping herself to a bowl of cereal.

"We're going to leave in a few minutes, just so you know," her mother said, sitting down next to her. Ayla nodded, glancing at the clock.

She finished breakfast and headed upstairs to get her trunk. Her family's butler, David, met her in the hallway and grabbed her trunk for her, carrying it easily down the stairs and returning upstairs to get José's. They walked to the garage and Ayla slid into the passenger seat of her mother's very expensive sports car while José clambered into the cramped back seat. They chatted about Hogwarts to Ayla's mother until they got to London, where they were dropped off a few blocks away from the Leaky Cauldron.

Ayla turned to her mother and smiled. "Thanks for the ride, mom."

Her mother smiled back. "Of course, sweetie. Have a good school year." She twisted around to speak to José, who luckily also spoke Spanish. "It was great meeting you, José. I hope you come and stay again. Thank you for keeping Ayla company while I was away."

Ayla leaned over to hug her mother and got out of the car with José, pulling her trunk along. They walked to The Leaky Cauldron, sun shining in their eyes. It was one of the very few warm, sunny days of the mostly rainy summer.

The two of them cut through the Leaky Cauldron, stopping to chat with Hannah Abbott, the landlord, for a few moments before stepping out the back. Ayla tapped her wand on the brick wall outside and waited as the bricks wriggled, finally forming the archway into Diagon Alley. She stepped in with José and caught sight of a lanky boy with shaggy black hair gazing at a broom through a window.

"James!" She hollered and he turned. He face erupted into a grin when he saw her.

"Hey, Torres!" He exclaimed, running to her. She sprinted toward him, throwing her arms around him.

"It's great to see you!" She cried, looking up at him. "Where are Albus and Lily?"

"Inside Flourish and Blotts," he said, grinning and gesturing toward their general direction. Ayla beamed at him and dashed into the store, seeing Albus and Lily to the left of the door. Lily saw her and squealed, hugging her excitedly.

"Oh, my god, I have so much to tell you! Brad and I..." She gabbed but Ayla could hardly focus on what she was saying. She looked over Lily's shoulder and saw Albus smiling at her, hands in his pockets. "Oh, look, it's your friend!" She darted out of the store to talk to James and José.

Albus grinned at Ayla, looking after Lily. "She's been like that all summer," he told her, turning back to Ayla. "It's so good to see you," he breathed, putting his arms around her. She hugged him tightly, unable to keep the smile off her face.

"I missed you," she admitted, looking at him and he smiled and looked down.

"I missed you, too," he said sincerely. He moved on to a more cheerful topic. "I hope you're ready to get _annihilated _in Quidditch!"

"Oh, in your dreams, Al!" She joked, messing up his hair.

He laughed and gestured toward the door. "Come on, my parents are waiting outside Madam Malkin's. James had yet another growth spurt."

Ayla grinned and followed him out of the store, picking up Lily, James, and José on the way and heading to Madam Malkin's.

"Ayla!" Ginny exclaimed when she saw her, giving her a hug. "How have you been?"

"I'm great, how are you?" Ayla exclaimed happily, giving Harry a hug as well.

"Fantastic!" Ginny replied happily. "We've missed you around our house!"

"Aw, me too," Ayla said, smiling sweetly.

"What do you say we get some ice cream?" Harry suggested. They headed to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Ayla noticed a memorial outside of the shop that honored its previous owner.

They sat outside of the ice cream parlor, discussing their excitement for the new year and letting the sun warm them up.

"So, what electives are you taking this year, Ayla?" Harry asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm taking Muggle Studies, Arithmancy, Divination, Ancient Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures," she answered automatically and Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Taking a leaf out of Hermione's book?" He asked and Ayla laughed.

"Hugo told me about the time-turner because he knew I wanted to take them all, so I brought it up to McGonagall," Ayla explained.

"Good luck," Harry said genuinely. "It'll be a lot of work."

Ayla smiled. "I know, but I'm willing to do it."

"She's a super-genius," James said through a mouthful of ice cream, nodding toward Ayla.

Ayla blushed and looked down.

"Anyway, Divination is a load of crap," James declared, taking another mouthful of ice cream. "But it's sort of easy. Care of Magical Creatures is the _best_; Hagrid teaches it. And Muggle Studies...well, you've got to take it at some point, so you might as well."

"I'm looking forward to it all," Ayla said honestly. "Everything seems so interesting. What are you taking, Lil?"

"Oh, Divination and Care of Magical Creatures," Lily responded.

"I'm looking forward to Arithmancy," Ayla said brightly, beaming.

"It's like divination without all the bullshit," Harry agreed and James snorted. "So, how do they do electives nowadays? When I went to Hogwarts, all our classes were all year long. I know that most of yours are half the year at a time; for just one term. Are electives one term or are they the whole year?"

"Core classes are just for the term; electives are all year," Albus replied and Harry nodded. "And sometimes you have electives with people from other years. Oh, but Muggle Studies will only be half the year. Because they made it a required core class. You're allowed to take it whenever you want, but it's a requirement."

"That makes sense, I guess," he said thoughtfully.

"Wait, Ayla, did you say Arithmancy?" Lily realized, raising her eyebrows and Ayla nodded. "Ooh, are you going to have Professor Ackerley?"

Ayla hid a smile. "No, he teaches the later levels of the class. Professor Vector teaches it for the first year you take it. And then after that, Professor Ackerley teaches it."

"Well, there's a class you'll want to stick with," Lily said, smirking, and Ayla grinned.

"Who's Professor Ackerley?" Harry asked, amused.

"No one," Lily and Ayla said together, blushing.

When they had finished shopping, they headed back to 12 Grimmauld Place, and the at-home feeling that came over Ayla was overwhelming. She grinned broadly as she set her trunk down in Lily's room, who gabbed on about her excitement to have Ayla as a roommate again. José went straight to the room he was sharing with Albus, saying that he needed to sleep. Albus entered a moment later through the bathroom that connected his room to Lily's. James ducked through the regular door just afterward, looking around and shutting the door quietly behind him.

"What's going on?" Lily asked suspiciously.

"I wanted to wait until Ayla was here to tell you," Albus began, resting a box on Lily's bed. "You won't believe what Teddy gave me."

Teddy Lupin was Harry's godson, and acted as an older brother to all three Potter children.

James looked impatiently over Albus's shoulder and Lily raised her head to peer at the box. Albus opened it theatrically and revealed a shimmery blanket.

"Apparently Dad gave it to him when he started at Hogwarts," Albus explained breathily.

"Is that—" James stammered, grabbing a fistful of the fabric.

"It is..." Ayla said in awe.

"What is it?" Lily demanded.

"It's an invisibility cloak," Ayla said, moving forward to get a closer look.

"Does Dad know Teddy gave it to you?" Lily asked anxiously and Al nodded.

"Why didn't Teddy give it to me?" James sputtered, his face drawn in an expression of amazement.

Albus snorted. "Because you'd probably use it to blow up the school."

James nodded as though he had a fair point, and then his face slowly spread into a huge grin. "Imagine what this will do for our pranking!" Albus laughed at this, eyes widening in excitement. He grabbed the cloak and threw it over himself and his brother. Ayla and Lily watched in amazement as their bodies vanished. If it weren't for the brothers' bickering over who was taking up too much room under the cloak, there would be no reason to believe they were still there.

"This is awesome," Ayla said as they removed the cloak and stuffed it back in the box.

"Let's go ask Dad about all the times he used it!" James exclaimed, throwing open the door and barreling down the steps. Lily, Ayla, and Albus followed and they sat down in the kitchen with Harry around the table. "So, Dad," James began and his father sighed.

"Oh, no," Harry muttered. "Conversations that start with those two words never end well," he explained to Ayla and she laughed.

"We want to know about your use of the invisibility cloak," James declared, sitting back. Harry sighed, his eyes resting on Albus.

"I didn't use it well most of the time; I'll tell you that." He took a sip of his tea. "I snuck out to see Hagrid...snuck into Hogsmeade when I didn't have permission..." He set down his mug, looking suspiciously at his sons. "Don't get any ideas, you two."

James grinned at his brother and then shook his head innocently at his father.

Following that conversation, Ayla played Quidditch with James, Albus, and José until dinner. The next week, Liam and Brad visited for a day. The following few weeks were filled with Quidditch, more trips to Diagon Alley, and huge dinners with the extended family. The last day of summer, Harry and Ginny dropped them all off at the Leaky Cauldron so that they could spend the night and catch their train early the next morning. Liam, Brad, and Hugo were meeting them there, and had already arrived when they entered the door.

"Hannah, how are you?" Harry politely greeted the landlady, Hannah Abbott.

"Oh, hello, Harry. I'm great; how was your summer?"

"It was good," Harry replied amiably. "I think the kids are looking forward to getting back to Hogwarts."

"Yeah, I'll bet!" Hannah exclaimed, smiling past him at Lily, Albus, James, Ayla, Brad, Liam, Hugo, and José.

"Let's see, if we have two to a room..." Harry mused, looking at them and scratching his chin. "We could have Lily and Ayla together, James and Albus, Brad and Liam, then Hugo and José. That works, right?" Everyone nodded except Hannah, who bit her lip nervously.

"Actually, we only have one room available," she said apologetically.

Harry cursed quietly, looking again at the kids. "I guess we could have them stay somewhere else?" He suggested.

"No, come on, Dad! It's tradition!" Albus complained and Harry sighed.

"Well, I'm sorry, Albus, but unless you want to all bunk together-" he began sardonically but stopped when he saw Albus grinning. "No, that's not going to happen." He turned to Hannah. "That's now allowed, is it?" He asked pleadingly, wanting someone else to say no to Albus. "Eight of them in one room?"

"Not for most customers," she admitted. "But you're one of my husband's best friends, so I think I can pull some strings." She held the key out to Harry and he took it slowly.

"I guess you're all rooming together," he said uncertainly and James laughed, grabbing the key.

"See you guys!" James said happily and Harry looked surprised.

"Have an excellent year," he told his eldest son, hugging him tightly. Harry and Ginny moved on to hug each one of them while Ayla thanked them again for letting her stay for a few weeks. After a long farewell, Harry and Ginny departed, leaving them all in the lobby of the Leaky Cauldron. They made their way up to the room and saw that it held one bed. They all burst into laughter, looking at the small room.

"What now?" Albus asked awkwardly. Brad threw down his bags and flopped onto the bed.

"Dibs," he declared casually.

"Hell, no!" Liam exclaimed, tackling him. Hugo dove onto the bed to help Liam shove Brad off of the bed, followed by Lily, Ayla, Albus, James, and finally José, until they were all piled on the queen-sized bed, howling with laughter.

"Okay," Albus said as he ran out of breath from laughing. "By far, weirdest thing we have _ever _done!"

There was a knock at the door. "Housekeeping!" Came a voice and the door opened slowly. The maid that stood in the doorway looked shocked to see the eight of them on the bed. "I, uh, I'll...I'll come back." She bustled out, closing the door behind her and the group erupted into laughter again.

"Alright," Ayla said after a moment, clambering off of the pile. The others followed while Brad remained stretched out on the bed. "How should we do this?"

"We'll go down to the front desk and ask them to send up extra pillows and blankets," Albus suggested. "The girls can sleep on the bed and then we'll sleep on the floor."

"No fair!" Brad whined and Lily stuck her tongue out at him teasingly. He grinned at her and she sat down next to him.

"It's going to be so good to get back to Hogwarts," Liam said, sitting down on the ground.

"Yeah," Hugo agreed. "You know who I miss from Hogwarts? Our roommates."

"I've never met your roommates," Ayla realized, frowning.

"In our dormitory, it's me, Liam, Brad, and these two guys, Tristan and Nate," Hugo told her. "It's always so fun; Tristan and Nate bring food back with them from dinner every night and we just stay up all night eating." Ayla and Lily laughed. "You've met Nate, though," Hugo continued. "I worked with him in Herbology on the asphodel plants that one time."

"Oh, that guy!" Ayla exclaimed in realization. "I didn't know you guys were roommates!"

"My roommates are pretty cool, too," Albus agreed. "Outside of school, I really only hang out with Seth, but they're all cool to hang out with at Hogwarts."

"I miss the food at Hogwarts," James admitted, a sentimental look on his face. José and Albus nodded in agreement.

"Is it weird that I sort of miss the classes?" Hugo asked and Ayla beamed in agreement.

They spent most of the night discussing each detail of Hogwarts that they missed, and finally fell asleep for just a few hours until it was time to wake up for breakfast. Ayla sat up as the sun came thought the window, looking down at Albus, James, Hugo, Brad, Liam, and José sleeping on the wooden floor. She stood up, trying not to wake Lily, and tiptoed over the boys on the floor, trying not to step on them. James, who was feigning sleep, grabbed her ankle as she passed, causing her to trip.

"James!" She shrieked as she fell, smacking his arm. "You're such a jerk!" She said playfully, laughing. He looked at her and she suddenly realized that she had fallen right onto his lap. She cleared her throat and stood up. James grinned and followed, then winced, clutching his back.

"Damn, sleeping on a floor is _not _comfortable."

"_Aw_," Ayla cooed in mocking pity. He shot her a fake scowl that turned into a broad grin. Ayla grabbed her clothes from her trunk and headed for the bathroom, reaching the door at the same time as James.

"Am I supposed to say '_ladies first_' right now?" He asked, his hand resting on the knob.

"If you were a gentleman," Ayla snorted. "And it's too late for that, so go ahead," she said, fighting a smile. He shoved her shoulder playfully and held the door open.

"You go," he told her and she smiled at him, entering the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

Ayla changed quickly, brushed her teeth, and exited the bathroom, putting her pajamas back in her suitcase and zipping it shut. She sat at the desk in the room to do her hair and makeup, then checked the room to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. By this point, Brad was the only one who was still sleeping. Ayla crumpled a piece of parchment and flicked it at him.

"What?" He mumbled into his pillow.

"You planning on missing the train?" She asked and he sat up sharply, cursing.

"What time is it?" He groaned, rubbing his eyes.

"Ten-thirty," she answered. He scrambled up and they all headed downstairs, hauling their trunks along with them to King's Cross Station.

"I'm going to go catch up with my roommates," José told them as they piled into a compartment on the Hogwarts Express after dashing through the barrier. Ayla nodded and ruffled his hair before he walked away.

Ayla settled into the seat by the window, looking outside at all of the parents bidding their children goodbye.

They ate sweets from the trolley that went around the train for breakfast. Their compartment was frequently visited by acquaintances from Hogwarts as the train chugged toward the castle. By the end of the train ride, the rain was pouring down in sheets that made it difficult to see. Ayla gazed out the window at the blurry castle as the rain hit the window like bullets.

"Since we're at Hogwarts, we're allowed to use magic now, right?" Ayla asked as the train came to a stop. James shrugged.

"I guess so."

"Great," Ayla said, smiling. She took out her wand and put water-repelling charms on herself and her friends.

Albus and James both stared at her in awe. "Amazing..." They murmured together.

"Thanks," she said, grinning and tucking her wand back into her jeans pocket. They hopped off the train, walking casually to the carriages amidst people sprinting and holding their cloaks over their heads. The thestrals pulling the carriages (which Ayla still didn't understand he she could see) were finding it difficult to navigate through the rain. The had been the unlucky ones to get on the very last carriage, and they didn't make it to the feast in time for the sorting. They walked in to see that the first years had already dispersed to their respective tables, and the tables had already filled with food.

"We apologize for beginning the feast without all of our students present," McGonagall said as they sat at the Gryffindor table. "But one of our thestrals got lost and we could only hold the feast for so long."

Ayla moved some food into her plate and picked up her fork.

"Are you okay?" Albus asked her, concerned, seeing the look on her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ayla said distractedly, setting down her fork. "I think I'm going to go to the library."

"Wait-Ayla!" James sputtered, shocked. "It's our first day back; how could you _possibly _have any work to do?"

"Fine, I'll go after the feast," she said, lowering herself back into her seat. James frowned helplessly, shaking his head and shoving more food into his mouth.

When the feast had ended, everyone headed for the common room, except Ayla, who went straight to the library. She checked to make sure that no one she knew was around, then made a beeline for the section that she needed. And she stayed in the library all night, heading straight from there to her classes the next morning.

X.

Ayla got to use her time-turner the first time that day. She left the library and went to Charms, meeting up with Lily, Hugo, Liam, and Brad.

"Hey," Lily greeted her, moving her bag off of the desk she had saved for Ayla. "Where were you overnight? And at breakfast?"

"Library," Ayla answered as she sat down. After a quite fun lesson in which they practiced freezing charms, Ayla left the classroom with her friends. She waited for them to get distracted then ducked into a corner and pulled her time-turner out from under her shirt. She twisted it slightly and felt as though she was spinning for a moment until she stopped. She was back in passing time before first period. She dashed up the stairs to get to Arithmancy, her other first period class. She walked into the classroom and was greeted by a strict-looking professor in the doorway.

"Name," the Professor said sharply.

"Ayla Torres."

"The table on the front row—left. Next to Mr. Kennedy."

Ayla adjusted her bag over her shoulder and walked over to the said table, sitting down next to a boy with sandy brown hair.

"Hey," he greeted her, extending his hand. "I'm Tristan Kennedy."

Ayla recognized the name as that of Hugo, Liam, and Brad's roommate that they had told her about.

"Ayla Torres," she said, shaking his hand.

"Hey, uh, do you..." He began nervously. "Do you know anything about Arithmancy?"

"It's basically using numbers and mathematical systems to make predictions," Ayla explained and he nodded slowly.

"Class!" The Professor snapped, slamming the door and stalking into the classroom. She was rather pale and thin, with long, dark hair. "We will begin by finding our personality types based on the letters in our names. Turn to page 12 in your textbooks for instructions." With that, she sat at her desk while the students began their work. When they had finished calculating their results, the class shared what they had found. A fourth-year girl in the back corner raised her hand immediately. She rattled off her numerical results, then went on to say that she felt that this would result in her living into old age, while the girl sitting next to her had received results that could only culminate in a shorter life.

"Have you been studying Divination?" Professor Vector demanded harshly and the girl nodded, sinking slightly in her seat.

"Yes, ma'am, I took it last year."

"In Arithmancy class, we do not make random predictions with no scientific evidence to back them up," she snapped. "We use mathematical systems to predict events that are made probable by the invariable evidence that comes with using such exact methods of prediction."

"I'm not quite sure what she just said, but it sounds like your definition was spot-on," Tristan whispered and Ayla fought a smile, still looking at Professor Vector.

"W-well, I just thought that with the balance of my personality type with my social type, I-"

"You are certainly in no position to be predicting your classmates' life spans. Or yours, for that matter. Especially not based on this; the most simple elements of Arithmancy," Professor Vector replied snippily.

"Hey, Ayla, d'you think two-plus-two equals death?" Tristan said under his breath and Ayla snorted.

"Who would like to share next?" Professor Vector asked briskly, finally moving on from berating the fourth-year girl. Ayla raised her hand.

"My character number is four," She said and Professor Vector nodded.

"Did you use middle names?" She asked, a small smile forming on her lips for the first time.

"Of course," Ayla said simply and the smile on Vector's finally became prominent.

"Why, exactly?"

"W-well, they're a part of my name," Ayla said tentatively. "They're a part of _me_, I guess."

"Absolutely right," Professor Vector said. "After reading the description of a number four personality type, do you feel that your results were accurate?" Ayla nodded and Professor Vector gave her another tight-lipped smile of approval.

After Arithmancy, which Ayla walked out of with Tristan, she had both Potions and Ancient Runes. After lunch, in third period, she had Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies. In fourth period, she had only Divination, and in last period, she had Transfiguration. She returned to the common room that night with an enormous pile of homework, but she got through it quickly and retreated to the library. She spent the next two weeks this way; going nowhere but class, the library, and the Great Hall at mealtimes. When someone asked her what she was doing, she hid her books from sight and replaced them with the textbooks of her core classes so as to hide what she was truly studying.

One night in mid-October, when Ayla was in the library, poring over her thick book, her eyes drooping with exhaustion, her head feeling heavy as though it was about to drop right onto the table in a deep sleep, Albus approached her from across the library. He sat down across from her and lifted the end of the book to read the title on the spine. Too tired to stop him, she just sat back and waited for his reaction, gazing at him through heavy eyes.

"Thestrals," he read, inhaling deeply, setting the book down. "Ayla, why are you doing this?" He asked, sounding equally weary.

"I've got to know," she answered simply, flipping the page and skimming the first paragraph.

"What exactly are you looking for?"

"Some sort of loophole," she responded immediately. "Some reason why I'm able to see the thestrals when I've never seen death."

"Is it possible that-sorry if this sounds morbid-you've seen death and you just don't remember it?"

"No," she replied hastily. She cleared her throat and read from the book, "_Only those who can vividly remember witnessing death are able to see these magical creatures_." She looked up at Albus. "If I can see the thestrals, there's got to be some other reason."

"Why don't you ask someone? Ask Hagrid; he knows everything about every magical creature!" Albus suggested.

Ayla's eyes widened. "I never thought of that," she realized.

"Ayla, you don't have to handle everything on your own," he told her softly. She looked up at him, her violet eyes meeting his green ones. "You're not alone anymore; you've got your friends to help you."

She smiled at him, her eyes brightening slightly through their exhaustion. "Thanks, Albus," she said genuinely. "I'll see Hagrid first thing tomorrow morning."

"We could go now," Albus offered, looking at the watch. "We've still got two hours till curfew."

Ayla grinned, closing the book and standing up. They left the library. Ayla stopped midway down the corridor. "Hey-Albus, I just remembered a deal we made a while ago."

"What was it?" He asked, pausing at the top of the steps.

"It was that one day when we played Quidditch, when you thought I should try out for the Quidditch team."

Albus looked at her curiously, resting his hands in his pockets.

"You said we should go talk to McGonagall and I asked you how you knew she was up. You said that you would tell me when I told you where I learned to break open a padlock."

"Which was...?" He asked, fighting the grin taking over his face.

"Sunnydale," Ayla replied simply, perching on the handrail next to him. "Your turn."

"Fine," he said reluctantly, reaching into his back pocket. "But this is top-secret; James is the only other person who knows." He pulled out a piece of parchment and handed it to Ayla.

"Wow," she said sarcastically. "This is incredible."

He gave her a playful scowl and held his wand to the parchment. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Lines slowly began to form on the parchment until they had created a map of the entire castle. Ayla watched in amazement as she realized that the tiny moving figures on the map each represented a person in the castle. She saw her name and Albus's positioned exactly where they were standing; saw that Lily and James were in their dormitories, and that Brad, Liam, and Hugo were in the Great Hall. She saw a few names she did not recognize, the names of many students that she knew, and the names of each and every professor at the castle.

"This is _amazing_," she said in awe, turning it over in her hands. "Where'd you get it?"

"Well," he began. "It's a long family story. My Dad's father, James, created it with his three best friends from Hogwarts. It was confiscated by Argus Filch, the caretaker back then. My Uncle George and his twin brother stole it from his office and used it for a few years before they gave it to my Dad. Apparently, he thought of giving it to Teddy when he went to Hogwarts, but knew that Teddy might get in trouble with it like my dad did. He wasn't going to give it to any of us, but James heard him and Mum talking about it, so he stole it when they weren't home. He didn't tell me about it until I was in my second year, and then he decided to share it with me so that we could use it to prank people."

Ayla grinned at him, then looked back at the map, shaking her head. "Seriously, this is so cool. Does Harry know it's missing?"

Albus nodded. "I think so. He never said anything directly to James or me about it, but I think he knows." Ayla laughed and handed the map back to him, hopping down from the banister. "Ready for Quidditch tryouts tomorrow?" Albus asked.

Ayla grinned nervously. "I'm really excited, but I'm a little anxious."

"Don't be. You're an amazing flyer and you were meant to be on the Quidditch team," he told her sincerely. She smiled at him and he grinned back.

"So, do you still have to try out even though you've been on the team for years?" she asked.

"Yeah, no spot is guaranteed," he replied. "Except for James's, since he's already captain," he explained as they reached Hagrid' cabin. Albus raised his fist and knocked on the door, which opened almost immediately to reveal a surprised-looking Hagrid. He beamed when he saw Albus.

"Albus! Yeh fin'ly came ter see me, now did yeh?"

"Yeah, Ayla and I wanted to talk to you about something," Albus said, straightening himself up after being clapped on the back by Hagrid and sent flying into the wall. He rubbed his shoulder where he had collided with the stone and sat down in one of the massive chairs.

Ayla was massaging her head where Hagrid had attempted to ruffle her hair, sending pain down her neck and a throbbing on her scalp.

"Hagrid, I wanted to ask you something about thestrals. I've been researching them and Albus suggested that I come to you."

"Well, what'd'yeh want ter know?" He asked, flopping down in his seat and taking a large gulp from his massive mug.

"Is there any way, hypothetically, for one see thestrals when that someone hasn't seen death?" Ayla asked awkwardly and Hagrid shook his head vigorously.

"On'y one way ter see the thestrals! And tha's witnessin' a death."

"There's no...loophole of some sort?"

Hagrid shook his head again, but slower this time, as though deep in thought. "Jus' one way..." He repeated and Ayla nodded, glancing at Albus.

"Thanks for your help," she said kindly, standing up. "Sorry to bother you."

"Never a bother!" He exclaimed heartily. "Sorry fer not givin' yeh the answer yeh was lookin' fer, but it's the on'y answer I got."

Ayla smiled warmly at him. "Don't worry about it," she assured him. "Thanks so much."

Hagrid walked the two of them out of the hut and they headed up to the castle while Hagrid went back inside.

"Well, I guess you'd want to go get some sleep before tryouts," Albus said considerately and Ayla snorted.

"Sleep...right..." And sure enough, when they returned to the castle, she went straight to the library.

X.

Ayla shivered against the cool morning air, gripping her broom in her right hand. James, looking proud to be Quidditch captain, was standing across from her and the crowd of students around her.

"Alright, everyone ready?" He asked loudly, looking around. He detailed the path that they were supposed to fly as the first step of the tryout.

They all mounted their brooms and flew together, taking three laps around the stadium, them weaving in and out through the three hoops, then landing back on the ground. The rest of the tryout was held-according to James-almost exactly like a Quidditch practice, but without the Bludgers or Snitch. The Quaffle was released, and the students who were trying out flew around the field, passing the Quaffle to each other and trying to shoot it through the hoops. James called them down after about half an hour, and announced that the individual tryouts would begin. He went in alphabetical order down the list. Ayla waited anxiously, clutching her broom as he neared her name toward the end.

When it was her turn, she took a deep breath and swung one leg over her broom, pushing off from the ground. She shot up into the air with the Quaffle, shooting it through the leftmost of the three hoops. The keeper from the past year had been asked to serve this position during the individual tryouts. The keeper cursed under his breath as the Quaffle went straight through the hoop. Ayla caught it again and made another shot, faking to the left and then shooting it through the center hoop.

James watched from the ground, squinting against the rising sun, yet widening his eyes in amazement at her skills.

"Who is _that_?" The boy next to him breathed.

"That," James said proudly, grinning, "is Ayla Torres."

Ayla landed after her turn, and waited as a few more people performed.

"Alright," James said at the end, consulting with Professor Longbottom, who had come to help. "You all performed quite well, however we can only have seven players on the team, so of course, some of you will have to be cut. But, we encourage you to try out next year even if you didn't make it this year," he said formally, and Ayla could tell that the speech was heavily scripted. James cleared his throat and looked down at his list. "Our previous keeper, Cormac McLaggen, will remain Gryffindor keeper," James announced. The new players applauded but the returning players groaned. Ayla looked questioningly at Albus and he moved closer to her to whisper in her ear.

"His dad—who has the same name—went to Hogwarts with my dad. They weren't the same year, but they knew each other. According to Dad, he was a complete ass. His son," he said, gesturing to the boy who had just become keeper, "is _just _the same." He was about to continue but realized that James was about to announce the next player, and closed his mouth.

"Our three chasers are..." James began, taking a dramatic pause. "Natalie Peakes, returning from last year; Quinn Logan, new this year; and Ayla Torres, new this year!"

Ayla worked hard to contain her squeal as her face spread into a huge smile. Albus beamed at her and gave her a congratulatory hug.

"Our two beaters..." James declared, grinning, "are myself and Albus Potter, both returning from last year!"

Ayla smiled at Albus, her eyes lit up with happiness.

"And finally, our seeker is...seventh year Louis Weasley!" James announced, clapping his cousin Louis on the back. Louis grinned, flicking his reddish-blonde hair from his eyes. "Congratulations to all those who made the team, for the first time or as a returning player!" James yelled enthusiastically. "Thank you all so much for trying out today! Those who made the team, please stay for a team meeting. The rest of you are free to go."

The students who had not made the team shuffled out of the stadium, while James led the players into the locker rooms. Ayla felt like she was bursting with happiness; the bad Quidditch memories having vanished from her mind.

"Here are some practice schedules for all of you," James said, passing out sheets of paper. Ayla looked down at the schedule and saw that the team practiced every night for one hour before dinner, and three hours after dinner. She grinned, excitement flooding through her.

"We start practice tonight," James said, pacing back and forth slightly. "And here's a schedule for all of our games." He passed out another piece of paper. "I personally think we've got a good shot at the Quidditch cup, so practice hard! You guys can go," he finished, turning to his stacks of paper as they all filed out of the locker room. Ayla waited behind to talk to James, but had to wait, as Cormac had approached him first. She stood out of earshot so as not to be rude, waiting patiently for their conversation to end.

James looked up from his stack of papers to see Cormac McLaggen. "Cormac," he said coolly.

"Potter," he sneered back. "I just wanted to make sure of something with the schedule. Do you expect us do practice _every _night at these times?"

"Yes," James returned, folding his arms. "Is that an issue?"

The boy smirked, stepping closer to James. "Maybe not for losers like you who don't have dating lives, but for me, yes. Friday and Saturday nights are supposed to be spent having fun, not practicing."

"If you've got a problem committing to the team, feel free to quit. I'll find someone to take your place."

He gave a derisive snort. "Someone who can replace _me _as keeper? Oh, no, that won't happen. I'll make you a deal; you get to keep my skills on the team if..."

"What?" James snarled.

"If you get me a date with that hot new chaser. I've seen you talking to her; I know you two are friends. If you can hook us up, I'll be here for practice on time every night."

James gave a disgusted noise and brushed past him, shoving his papers into a locker. "Do whatever you want, McLaggen. If you quit, I'll find a replacement. But leave Ayla out of it."

The boy gave one last snort, paused to push James's head forward so his collided with the locker, and left. Ayla emerged from the corner where she was waiting and approached James.

"Hey," he greeted her hastily, dropping his hand from his head and hoping she hadn't seen what had just happened. "Congratulations," he said, grinning. "When you tried out, Longbottom leaned over and said to me, 'if you don't let her on her on the team, I think we'd have to have Madam Pomfrey check you out.' You were a shoo-in," he told her, smiling.

She beamed at him. "Thanks, James."

"Welcome to the team," he said with a grin.


	33. Chapter 33

**This is a short chapter, but I figured it was a good end to the chapter! working on 34 now!**

Ayla sat in the locker room between Albus and the chaser named Quinn, passing her broomstick from hand to hand subconsciously, nerves flowing through her. Albus laid his hand on her broomstick, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Sorry," she murmured, settling for gripping her broom until her knuckles turned white.

"First game of the season, guys," James announced, pacing back and forth in front of the Quidditch team. "I'm counting on you guys; this is going to be a good game, I just know it. Hufflepuff's got a decent seeker, but their Chasers suck. So, Louis," he said, addressing the seeker. "Just try to get the snitch quickly, before they've got a chance." He rubbed his hands together and inhaled deeply. "Alright. Ready?"

They all got to their feet and emerged from the locker room, waiting behind the stadium entrance.

"Don't be nervous," James said to Ayla, putting his arm around her bracingly. "You've got this, alright?"

Ayla nodded, staring intently ahead as she clutched her broom.

"Please welcome the Gryffindor team!" Madam Hooch announced, and Ayla took a deep breath as she walked onto the field with the team. They stood waiting while Madam Hooch introduced the Hufflepuff team. James shook hands with their captain, Tony Rickett.

They mounted their brooms and, at Madam Hooch's whistle, took off from the ground. Ayla waited in the air as the Quaffle was released, then dove down to catch it. She flew towards the three hoops guarded by Hufflepuff's keeper (who was also their captain). He dove to knock it away but failed.

"Yes!" Albus cheered, slinging his free arm around her shoulders briefly. He then zoomed after one of the Bludgers, holding his club in the air. Ayla watched as Quinn Logan, another chaser, took possession of the Quaffle and shot it through the middle hoop. Ayla high-fived him as she zoomed past. One of the Hufflepuff Chasers, Marie Ventolle, caught the Quaffle next, took a shot at the left hoop, but Cormac knocked it away with the tail end of his broom.

Albus's roommate, Seth, had taken over announcing the Quidditch matches this year. He was standing with the microphone behind the scoreboard, commentating every play.

"And McLaggen makes an excellent save!" He exclaimed, clapping loudly. "Gryffindor has the Quaffle, chaser Natalie Peakes makes a shot...oh, but she's just barely missed! Oh, but Ayla Torres has caught the Quaffle and is heading for the hoops...she fakes to the right-then goes to the left-she scores! Ten points to Gryffindor! Hufflepuff Chaser Justin Applebee grabs the Quaffle-and thanks to that incredible Bludger attack, courtesy of James Potter, he has dropped the ball! Quinn Logan makes another shot, another ten points to Gryffindor! It looks like Hufflepuff seeker Max Fleet has seen the snitch! He reaches for it-but, oh, Albus Potter has hit a Bludger toward him, throwing him off course! Well done, Al!"

"You're supposed to be impartial!" McGonagall barked and Ayla giggled as she grabbed the Quaffle and shot it through the left hoop.

"Does Louis Weeasley see the snitch?" Seth bellowed, diving forward to see the field. "Yes, he does! He dives for the snitch-he reaches out-he's caught the snitch!" Seth threw down the microphone and burst into a rather obnoxious celebratory dance.

"You're worse than Lee Jordan!" McGonagall shrieked at him, picking up the microphone and slamming it back onto the ledge, but even she was suppressing a smile.

Ayla landed smoothly on the ground, beaming, and the team launched into a huddle, hugging each other. Cormac stood stiffly just outside the circle, clearly not wanting to be touched.

James and Albus had lifted their cousin Louis onto their shoulders, parading him around the stadium.

Lily, Hugo, Brad, and Liam entered the stadium, wearing broad grins; the boys had brought their roommates, Tristan and Nate, with them.

"Hey, Ayla," Tristan said, smiling.

"Hey! Nice to see the other side of your face," she joked and he laughed. The two sat next to each other in Arithmancy class and Ayla had hardly ever seen him head-on.

"You'rereallygoodatQuidditch," Nate burst out, making it sound like all one word.

She smiled at him politely. "Thanks!"

"I'm Nate, by the way," he added.

"Nice to meet you," she said kindly, extending her hand. He beamed as he shook her hand.

Ayla turned to Lily, smiling broadly.

"You were amazing, Ayla!" Lily exclaimed, hugging her best friend.

"Thanks!" Ayla exclaimed, beaming. "Oh, I've got to go to the locker room with the team," she said, catching sight of James ushering her over. She gave Lily a quick hug and dashed off to the locker room.

"Amazing game!" James bellowed, thrusting his fist in the air. "You guys were great!"

The team cheered and James grinned.

"Seriously, guys, that was an awesome way to start off my season as Captain. Next weekend, we play Slytherin, so we're going to train super hard this week. Alright, everyone get changed!"

Ayla opened the locker that she had left her regular clothes in and quickly changed into them. She was in the process of pulling on her sweatshirt when Natalie Peakes caught sight of her scars.

"Oh, my god, why do you have scars everywhere?" She demanded loudly and the rest of the team turned to see. Ayla's face reddened as she speedily pulled on her hoodie, insecurity creeping up on her, while the team continued to stare until Albus stepped in front of her.

"Nothing to see here; get back to your victory party planning," he said, waving his arms to indicate that they should turn away. Everyone shrugged and turned back to their lockers. Ayla gave him a sincere look of thanks and he smiled reassuringly at her.

"Anytime," he said quietly, returning to his own locker.

"Party in the common room!" James announced when everyone had dressed, charging out of the locker room and back up to Gryffindor tower.

The party lasted uninterrupted up until dinner time, when Nearly-Headless Nick wafted through, scolding them for making so much noise and stopping to gaze longingly at the food.

"C'mon, Nick, lighten up," James said, grinning. "We've started off winning! It's cause for celebration!"

"Well, alright, then. Enjoy the food for me." And he drifted out of the room.

They continued partying until midnight, when McGonagall burst in looking extremely angry.

"What is all this racket?" She demanded. "I can hear you all the way from my office!"

"We won the first game of the season!" James exclaimed, beaming. "And based on the way we were playing, Seth reckons we could be favored to win the Quidditch Cup."

"Seth," McGonagall began sharply, but the corners of her mouth twitched as she continued, "is entirely incapable of containing his outright bias."  
"Come on, Professor McGonagall!" Albus begged, sitting on the arm of the couch. "You know you support Gryffindor!"

McGonagall drew herself up, looking abashed. "I am Headmistress," she said sternly. "I have no bias." She swept her nightdress around herself and stalked out of the common room. She paused midway through the portrait hole and said, "but congratulations on this morning's match. You all played excellently. Now, bed, all of you!" The door closed behind her and the Gryffindors fell silent in her wake.

"Party on?" James suggested and earned a roar of approval from his fellow Gryffindors. He cheered and turned the music back on.

"I said BED!" Barked McGonagall, her voice carrying straight through the portrait.

The Gryffindors snickered as they finally headed for their dormitories. Ayla quickly congratulated each player she passed on the way, before entering her dormitory and falling onto her bed, still dressed in her Quidditch uniform.

X.

By the middle of November, Ayla had been so submersed in her work that she had not slept in days. She sat in the common room on the floor in front of the table, bent over her Arithmancy notes. Hugo, Lily, and Albus sat in the armchairs opposite her, exchanging frequent glances and Ayla muttered angrily to herself about getting an answer wrong.

Albus looked down at her from his chair. There were dark purple circles under her bloodshot, tired eyes, only partially concealed by the hair falling in her face that Ayla was too exhausted to push back. She was keeping her eyes wide open, not allowing them to droop for fear that she would fall asleep for days.

"Hey, Ayla..." He began gently, knowing how easily upset she was in her tiredness. She murmured indistinctly, her hand darting across her parchment. All three of them stood up. "Ayla?" Ayla finally looked up, but her hand continued to twitch slightly around the quill as if aching to write.

"Ayla, we think you're under too much pressure with all of the classes you're taking," Lily told her.

"Yeah, I'm in O.W.L. year and I'm not even studying this hard," Albus pressed on.

"See, this is exactly what happened to my mum," Hugo contributed.

"D'you think maybe you've bitten off more than you can chew?" Lily suggested kindly.

"No," Ayla said quickly. "No, no, no, no..." Her voice trailed off into a murmur and she frantically flipped through her textbook pages and pieces of parchment. "I need to do this if I want to have options..."

"Options?" All three of them repeated, and three pairs of eyebrows raised questioningly.

"Yeah..." She muttered distractedly, searching for her Arithmancy essay. "Oh, there it is..." She said to herself, then returned to a normal volume to speak to her friends. "Like becoming an auror, or a healer...you need top marks for both."

"Mm-hmm," Lily hummed, seeming alarmed, and glanced at her brother and cousin, urging them to say something.

"Ayla, don't you think it's a little early to be thinking about that?" Albus suggested tentatively.

Ayla murmured something that sounded like, "never to early."

"But we'e just saying, you've got time to figure this out," Hugo told her.

"Not enough time," she said, still rifling through her work. "If I don't work these things out now, then before I know it, it will be too late."

"You're thirteen," Hugo said serenely.

Ayla paused, looked up at him, and said, "exactly," before returning to her work.

Lily laughed incredulously, looking at Ayla's immense workload. "Suit yourself," she chirped happily. "I'm going to go meet Brad."

"Why don't you just give up one of the pointless subjects?" Hugo suggested with a shrug. "My mum gave up Divination."

"No subject is pointless," Ayla said quietly, pulling her Ancient Runes book toward her.

"Well, we tired," Hugo said simply. "Good luck," he said, tapping the book and walking to his dormitory.

Albus waited for him to leave and then sat back down. "Ayla, you don't have to do this," he said wearily, and it took him back to the conversation they had in the library about her studying the thestrals.

"Yes, I do," she said solemnly as she continued writing.

"Why?" He demanded with a hollow laugh, his eyes searching, begging to know why she felt the need to do the to herself.

"Because, it's all I've got," she said simply. "If I lost my family because I'm a wizard, I might as well make it worthwhile."

Albus was stunned into speechlessness, having never thought of this before, but realized how true it was once it was in his mind.

Once he could speak, he had to fight through the lump in his throat. "Ayla, you can't put all of that on yourself. You can't try to do so well in wizardry that it makes everything that happened...somehow okay. I'm sorry if this sounds bad, but it's never really going to be okay. You can't make up for what happened to you."

"So, what are you saying, I'm damaged beyond repair?" Ayla demanded, setting down her quill.

"I'm saying you're worth more than this," he said sincerely.

Her eyes flooded with tears, while her eyes filled with anger toward herself. "No, I'm not! I was never good enough-my family never wanted me! There's got to be _something_ I could have done better! My mom's only _just_ taken to speaking to me; and that's only because her stupid husband has a good relationship with his kids and she wants to make it seem like she does with hers. I've screwed everything up, and you're right: I'm probably beyond repair at this point. I have to do this; I have to succeed in school, otherwise everything I've been through will have been for nothing!"

"Ayla, this doesn't make any sense! You're taking every class possible just to prove a point to your parents - who, by the way, are never going to _know_ that you're taking every class possible because they've never been to Hogwarts! You can't keep doing this. You're only hurting yourself," he said, his voice breaking. He grabbed the book she was reading from the table and she held onto it.

"Albus, give it to me, I have a test tomorrow and if I don't ace it, I might as well give up on every dream I've ever had!"

"I'm not letting you hurt yourself even more just because you want to change something that can't be changed!" He cried, still pulling the book from her grasp.

"Fine!" She sobbed, releasing the textbook. "Fine, I won't take my O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s early!"

Albus let the textbook fall to the floor. "What?" He demanded, his face ashen.

Ayla threw herself down on the couch. "My mom's husband is getting transferred for work...it's only for a few years, but she wants me to come with them. But, uh, there's no wizarding schools anywhere near there." She blinked through her tears. "So, this would be...this might be my last year at Hogwarts."


	34. Chapter 34

Albus felt numb, and a sickening feeling settled in his stomach. He spoke through what felt like a boulder in his throat. "You mean...you're leaving?"

Ayla shrugged helplessly. "Unless I convince them to stay...it looks like it." She ran her hands over her face tiredly. "I was going to speak to McGonagall about changing my classes to an O.W.L. level and trying to catch up, then taking my O.W.L. exams, then next term, taking N.E.W.T. level classes and then taking my N.E.W.T.s. That way I could at least get a job."

Albus stared at her, his head spinning. "Y-you can't leave, Ayla. You've got so many people here who need you in their lives and-"

"I'm thinking maybe if I get perfect scores on all of my exams, she'll realize that I need to stay here, that I belong here, and her husband won't accept the offer."

"That's the only way?" Albus asked, his voice breaking slightly.

"I think so," Ayla returned quietly. Before she could say anything else, the common room door opened and Lily burst in, sobbing.

"Lily!" Ayla exclaimed, rushing to her and hugging her, completely forgetting everything that had just been going on. "What happened?"

Albus was over to them in a flash, his hand on his sister's back, trying to comfort her.

"B-b-Brad ch-ch-cheated on m-me!" She wailed, sobbing into Albus's shoulder.

"I'll kill him," Albus bellowed.

"Oh, Lily, I'm so sorry!" Ayla exclaimed, hugging her again, a feeling beyond anger toward Bradley boiling through her. "Look, I'm here for you, whatever you need!" She said assuringly, rubbing Lily's arm soothingly. "Right after I go kick Bradley's ass," Ayla growled, hurtling out of the common room. She found Bradley talking to Tristan in the corridor across from the common room. She sprinted over, completely passing by Tristan.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" She bellowed.

"What's the matter with me is that some prat named Ayla just interrupted my conversation," he joked and Tristan snorted. "Just kidding," he said casually. "What's up?"

"Hi, Ayla," Tristan greeted her and Ayla could hardly hear him through the rage bubbling through her.

"A word," she snarled at Bradley. "_Now_." She shoved him painfully into an empty classroom nearby, slamming the door behind her and kicking Bradley as hard as she could in the most painful area she could think of. He collapsed to the floor, his hands between his legs, crying out in pain.

"What...was...that...for?" He demanded furiously through gritted teeth.

"What the hell do you think that was for?" She bellowed. "You cheated on Lily; how could be so horrible, so disgusting, so-"

"Stupid? I know," he said regretfully, struggling to pull himself into a seated position, his words slurred through the pain. He rubbed the spots that Ayla had repeatedly kicked him with each word she though of. "I dunno why I did it, and I wish I hadn't-"

"Oh, so it's all better now, isn't it?" Ayla roared. "You can just say you're sorry and everything will suddenly go back to normal?" Brad looked down, partly out of the extreme pain that was making his eye water, partly out of shame. "You can't expect her to ever forgive you for this," she said quietly. "Or any of us, for that matter." She left, slamming the door behind her. Tristan tried to stop her again in the hallway on the way back to the common room. "Take your buddy to the hospital wing," she spat, and re-entered the common room, going straight to Lily and Albus and hugging her best friend again.

"I think you'll be pleased to know," Ayla said, holding her at army's length, "that's he's curled up in the fetal position on the floor and someone's about to take him to the hospital wing."

Lily laughed once in spite of herself, wiping at her eyes. "Thank you, Ayla," she said sincerely.

Ayla hugged her again and spoke to Albus over her shoulder, remembering what he had said about people needing her. "I don't care if I have study 24 hours a day. I'm staying at Hogwarts."

X.

Ayla sat in Arithmancy two days later, staring at the ceiling, having just handed in a test and was waiting for everyone else to finish. She had chosen that day to go to Arithmancy before Charms in first period, then use the time turner to go back and take Charms class. Sitting there with nothing to do was the worst thing for her at this point as she could only thing of two things: her potential departure from Hogwarts and what had happened to Lily. At the moment she was thinking of leaving Hogwarts. _I can't do it_, she thought to herself._ I can't leave! This is the only place I've ever really loved being! It's the only place I've ever met people who I loved. And Lily needs me; I can't leave her, especially not now_! She had told her friends the day before about the possibility of her leaving. As she sat in Arithmancy, she flashed back to their reactions. The whole group had been sitting in the common room (except for Bradley, who was refusing to leave the common room even though Madam Pomfrey had healed him). José was there as well. They had sat in silence for a long time after she spoke; the loudest silence Ayla had ever heard. Hugo had been the first to speak.

_"That's bull," he said after several minutes. Liam glanced at him, Albus continued staring at the floor, James raised an eyebrow, and Lily continued to mourn on the couch over what happened with Bradley and now the possibility of losing her best friend as well. José's eyes widened in agreement and he nodded. "She can't just take you away. You're the best student in our year; she's got to see that!"_

_"Yeah, she can't just get married, not tell you, say she wants to be a real family, and then just try and pull you away from your home," Albus said fiercely. "__**We're**__ your family, we need you, and we're not just going to stand by and watch you leave!" James stared at his usually gentle brother and saw, for the first time, that Albus truly was Harry and Ginny's son._

_José was even angrier. "You're not going to walk out on me just like every other person in my life," he raged and Ayla looked shocked at how livid he looked, not at her but at the situation. "Everyone I've ever been close to has either left me or died; you're not going to do the same."_

_"We need you," Lily concluded, her voice breaking. "We all do."_

Ayla sniffed slightly as she recalled this conversation, and looked quickly up at the ceiling so no one would see her tears. Since this announcement, they had all acted rather anxious and quite emotional around her.

Ayla felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, glanced up at Professor Vector to make sure she was immersed in her work, then pulled out her cell phone.

"Oi!" Tristan hissed and she turned. "That thing works in here?"

She nodded and turned back to her phone. A moment later, she felt a quill hit the side of her head and turned again.

"I though cell phones didn't work at Hogwarts," he whispered. "Too much magical stuff in the air or something."

Ayla shrugged dismissively, feeling rude but knowing she needed to read her text. She opened it and her heart skipped a beat as she saw the words her mother hd typed. She translated them into English as she read them.

_George and I have decided to move. The house the company is giving us is very small and I don't think it can hold all three of us comfortably. You can stay at Hogwarts and still live in our house over the summer. George and I are leaving tonight._

She didn't know whether to squeal with glee or burst into tears. On one hand, she got to stay at Hogwarts, which was enough reason to be the happiest person on earth. On the other hand, she had just gotten some spark of hope that she might belong in a family again, and now that dream was demolished. _This is what happens when you get your hopes up, Ayla_, she thought to herself angrily, her eyes stinging with tears. But after a moment her face spread into a broad grin and the tears disappeared. She was staying at Hogwarts; staying at the first place she had truly thought of as home. By the time the bell rang, she had decided how she felt and knew she needed to stop at the common room and tell her friends before she used her time turner to make her other first period class. As she stepped through the portrait hole, she saw Lily, James, Albus, Hugo, Liam, and José sitting on the couches and armchairs. They all turned when she walked in, looking quite anxious again. She beamed when she saw them, gesturing with her phone to indicate that she had heard from her mother.

"I'm staying," she announced after a moment of suspenseful pause, grinning broadly.

"Yes!" Albus and James cheered at the same time, running to hug her as the rest of the group followed. Even Lily, who hadn't smiled since she found out about Brad, was beaming at her, but Ayla saw a tear glistening in her eye.

"Well, José," Ayla said quietly to him once the excited noise had died down slightly and she'd had a chance to pull him aside. "It looks like you've got someone who's here for you in the long haul after all, buddy."

José grinned and hugged her. "You'd better be," he teased.

Ayla's eyes glistened with joyful tears as she watched James and Albus doing some sort of strange celebratory dance, Lily beaming for the first time in days, Hugo and Liam planning a celebration party, and José standing next to her looking like a little kid on Christmas morning.

After a few minutes, once everyone had sat back down, Ayla grabbed her time turner and was ready to catch her other class, but James grabbed it from her.

"Uh-uh. This is cause for celebration. No schoolwork today," he said with a grin.

"I still have to-"

"You can just go back in time and do your school stuff later!" He pleaded. "And the rest of us can just skip for the day. Let's go somewhere!"

"Where?" Ayla asked curiously. "I mean, we can't go to Hogsmeade because you need a teacher to sign the form to get past the security guard."

"Or can we..." Albus murmured. "Hagrid would sign the form; he wouldn't care if we were ditching."

"Good idea! I'll do it," James said, dashing into his dormitory and grabbing a Hogsmeade request form, then barreling out of the common room and down to Hagrid's hut while the rest stayed. James pounded on the door and it opened after a moment. To his horror, Professor McGonagall had answered rather than Hagrid. Hagrid was sitting behind her, looking around her to see James and shooting him an excited wave. James wiped his wet hair from his eyes; it had started storming suddenly just as he was leaving the castle.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" She asked sharply, beady eyes narrowed.

"W-well, I was just coming to say hello in passing time," James said, shifting from foot to foot.

"Passing time is over. Second period started three minutes ago."

"Did it really?" James asked as though this was the first he was hearing about this.

"Ah, what's this?" She asked, plucking the Hogsmeade form out of his hands. She peered at him through her rectangular spectacles. "Hogsmeade..." She read, her eyebrows furrowed. "Follow me, Potter."

She swept across the grounds, and James shot an anxious look at Hagrid through the door before darting after her sullenly.

Up in the common room, Ayla gasped as she looked out the window at the grounds.

"What is it?" Albus asked, dashing to the window.

"McGonagall is bringing James up to the castle."

Albus cursed, pacing frantically.

"Alright, we've just got to think of a good lie to get him out," Ayla said, biting her lip nervously.

They all settled onto the couches and chairs to think about how they would get James out of trouble.

X.

James sat in front of McGonagall's desk, making every attempt to avoid eye contact with her as she leaned over her desk toward him.

"Why exactly were you going to go to Hogsmeade when you should have been in class?" She asked sharply. "The truth, Potter."

"The truth?" He repeated, looking around, trying to find something to help him think of a lie. "Well, um...the truth is that..."

But at that moment, the door burst open and Ayla, Lily, Albus, Liam, Hugo, and José burst in. James felt his face spread into a broad grin.

"James was going to surprise José for his upcoming birthday," Ayla announced loudly. "And take him to Hogsmeade. We're always hanging out together on weekends so he couldn't do it when we were off class. He tried to make it down there with enough time to get back to class but the storm slowed him down since it was harder to see where he was walking. We were worried about him in the storm, which is why we were up in the common room instead of in class."

McGonagall pursed her lips. "Is this true, Potter?"

James nodded vigorously.

"Well, as impressed as I am that you would do something so nice for your friend, I am extremely disappointed that you did not value your schoolwork enough to put that first."

They all looked down, ready to hear that they would have detention.

"Well, you truly are a Gryffindor, Potter," she said, patting him on the shoulder. He looked up, raising his eyebrows. "You may go," McGonagall said, holding open the door. "Bunt straight to class, all of you," she added sternly.

James beamed when she closed the door behind them. "Okay, whose idea was that?" He asked in a hushed voice in case McGonagall could hear through the door. Albus grinned and pointed at Ayla. "Brilliant!" James exclaimed, hugging her tightly. "Thank you, all of you."

"Well," Ayla said after a moment, clutching her time-turner. "I'd better go."

"You're the only one who still gets to be in class on time!" James teased.

"Believe me, the price is not unpaid," she said with a grin as she thought of her mounds of homework. "But it's worth it." She turned the time turned and everything went blurry until she was back in the time right before first period. She tucked her time turner into her shirt and headed to Charms, where Liam, Lily, and Hugo were already sitting that morning.

X.

That night, Ayla sat between James and Albus on the couch. The others had already gone to bed.

"I still can't believe you're staying; this is the best news ever," James said, beaming. Albus glanced at him and James blushed awkwardly. "I mean, Louis is already leaving after this year; we can't lose all of our Quidditch talent."

Albus suppressed a smile and rested his arm on the back of the couch. "So, what changed your mum's mind?"

Ayla looked down. "Oh, uh, the house is smaller than she's used to, and she thought it would be cramped if three of us lived there," she explained, trying to sound as cheerful as possible.

Both boys' faces fell.

"That's...awful," James said, his brow furrowed and his eyes saddened.

Ayla tried, and failed, to brush it off as if it was nothing. "It doesn't matter, I get to stay here, right?" She said, struggling to sound cheery, hoping that if they took on this point of view, it might convince that it really was no big deal.

"Yeah, but..." James shook his head. "I mean, doesn't it upset you at all that she doesn't...she doesn't want you there?" He sounded slightly nervous, as though scared Ayla might actually be upset and he might have to see tears.

Ayla shrugged. "It's not the worst she's done," she said simply. "Really, guys, don't worry about it," she pleaded, seeing Albus's concerned face. "I'm fine, honestly."

"How can she just...decide she doesn't want you?" James asked, seeming genuinely confused.

"She didn't just decide," Ayla said simply, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "She's never wanted me." She looked at the two boys and sighed. "Seriously, guys, I'm okay. Better than okay; I just found out I get to stay at Hogwarts!" They continued to look pityingly at her and she sighed. "And yeah, it's be great if she'd decided that because she knew that I truly belong here and that it's where I'm happy, but it doesn't matter. I got what I wanted, I'm staying here, so everything is fine."

"What are you going to do in the summers?" James asked and she shrugged.

"I don't mind living alone. Of course, the people that my mom has hired will be going with them, so I'll just stay by myself, no big deal."

"You can stay with us, Ayla, any time," Albus told her and she smiled at him.

"We've got a long time to work this stuff out. Anyway, for now, let's talk about the Quidditch match next weekend!"

"Ravenclaw," James said with a grin. "I think we've got a shot at the cup this year..."

X.

On the morning of the Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw Quidditch match, Ayla woke up extremely early, too excited to fall back asleep. She dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt to walk into the chilly common room. She saw James sitting on the couch, bent over a notebook.

"Hey," she said brightly, hopping over the back of the couch to sit next to him. "What Re you doing?"

"Oh, hey! I'm trying to create some plays for Quidditch fit to each player's talents." He let out a slow, deep breath. "It's harder than it looks."

"It looks pretty hard," she said, biting her lip as she looked over his shoulder at the complex diagrams he had drawn. "Ooh, do you think Louis could do a Wronski Feint? He's got a Nimbus, but the Ravenclaw seeker has a Cleansweep," she noted, pointing at the section of the page he had used to write down everyone's type of broom. "That's a big advantage; I'll bet it would work!"

James stared at her in awe. "You're right..." He murmured in amazement, scribbling it on the page. Ayla took a closer look at the page and her jaw dropped. "You want me to do a D'Orazio dive?"

He gave her a pleading look, clasping his hands together. "Please, Ayla?"

"Yeah, I don't mind, I just...I've never tried one before; do you think it would work?"

"Do you want to go practice it?" He offered, his eyes gleaming.

"Alright," she gave in, grinning at him. "You can finish that first, though, if you want.

"Thanks," he said, beaming and looking back at the notepad. "Hey, I've heard of this thing...there's a lot of different ways to do it, but some Quidditch teams use certain tactics to get Chasers to team up to score more points; do you know any of those?"

"Uh, well, there's the Blitzen Ballet," she suggested. "Where one Chaser gets on another Chaser's broom, which distracts the keeper, and then they shoot."

"Brilliant," he said, writing that down as well. "I'm thinking we should use these during the Sytherin match, actually. They're our biggest competition, and our last game, so we should do that instead. Against them, we _need_ the element of surprise. Today, we can have Louis do the Wronski Feint, but your D'Orazio Dive and the Blitzen Ballet can be saved for the Slytherin Match." She nodded and he looked at her. "You know, you'd make a good Quidditch captain, Ayla."

"Me?" She repeated with a laugh. "Nah."

"Seriously, Ayla, after next year, I'll be out of here!"

"Yeah, and then Al will probably take over," she said dismissively.

"But then he'll be gone the year after me," James protested.

"I just can't picture it," Ayla admitted.

James shook his head, grinning. "Well, I can. Anyway, do you want to practice your D'Orazio? They're really hard; only two professional Quidditch players are known to be able to do it, so the more practice, the better."

"Alright," Ayla agreed reluctantly. "But if I break my neck, it's on your conscience," she joked, grinning at him and he laughed as they exited the common room and walked to the Quidditch pitch with their brooms. Ayla hovered on her broom in the air and performed a quick charm that formed a sort of invisible safety net below her to catch her if she fell.

"So, D'Orazio dive..." James began, hopping onto his broom. "So, you're flying behind an opposing chaser, right? A Slytherin, in this case. You jump off your broom while they've got the Quaffle, then you do a double somersault through the air, snatch the Quaffle, and land on your broom."

Ayla nodded, biting her lip nervously.

"It's got to be timed perfectly, obviously, and you've got to get enough momentum to not hit the other Chaser on the way, because that would be a penalty," he continued. "You want to try the somersaults first, then try to do it over me?"

"Yeah, sure," Ayla agreed, a determined look on her face. She took a deep breath, gripping her broom tightly and tried to imagine someone in front of her as she bang flying forward. She leapt off her broom, launching herself forward. She managed to do two somersaults, but her thing was off and she landed an inch behind the tail of her broom, plummeting downward until she was caught by the safety net. She jumped up and grabbed her broom, pulling it down next to her and getting back on. "I can do better," she said stubbornly, trying it again and again until she landed perfectly on her broom. "Alright, now let's try it with you," she said, positioning him in front of her and handing him the Quaffle. He started forward and she followed, then exploded off of her broom with as much momentum as possible, flipping twice over his back, grabbing the Quaffle behind her head and landing on her broom that had continued flying below James. Her face erupted into a huge grin and she looked at James, who was cheering.

"You did it!" He exclaimed, zooming towards her and hugging her tightly. "I knew you could! We've got this cup in the bag

Ayla beamed at him, looking down at the Quaffle that she had caught in her hands. "We did it," she said in awe.

"You did it," James corrected, smiling at her and Ayla shook her head.

"Couldn't've done it without your help," she said honestly. "You want to head back to the castle?"

"Yeah, let's go," he agreed, landing on the ground once Ayla whisked away the safety net. They set off toward the castle and entered Gryffindor Tower to see the entire Quidditch team, with the exception of Louis, waiting in the common.

"What's going on?" James asked, looking at his watch. "The match isn't for another two hours; what are you all doing up?"

"Louis had a bit of an accident in potions yesterday," Natalie Peakes told him curtly. "Madam Pomfrey isn't letting him leave the hospital wing."

James' heart sank. "He can't play the match," he said dully and the team nodded slowly. James sat down slowly, his knees giving way. "We're left without a seeker for the second-biggest match of the season."

"We found someone willing to fill in," Cormac said, shoving a brown-haired boy forward. "Robby Vosper," he sneered. "His uncle was a professional player for England."

"You any good?" James asked bluntly and the boy shrugged and nodded at the same time.

"There's a catch, though," Albus said, nodding at the boy. "He'll only play Chaser."

"What?" James demanded furiously.

"It's all I've ever played," the boy said innocently and James ran a hand over his face.

"What the hell are we gonna do now?" James mumbled, dropping his head into his hands. "Can any of you play seeker?" He demanded of the three chasers. Quinn and Natalie stepped back automatically.

"Nope," Quinn answered.

"Never," Natalie replied.

James's pleading eyes fell on Ayla. "Please, Ayla," he begged, dropping to his knees theatrically. "I'm on my knees, Ayla."

"I can see that," she said, suppressing laughter. "I'll do it, yeah, I just can't guarantee I'll be as good as Louis."

"Thank you," James said gratefully. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Two hours later, they stood at the entrance to the Quidditch pitch, all more nervous than ever.

"You worried?" James asked Ayla and she nodded. "Don't be," he assured her, putting his hand on her upper arm. "Just...catch the snitch and you'll be fine."

"Good advice, James," she said sarcastically and he gave a nervous laugh.

He looked over at Robby, who was looking curiously at his broomstick. "Hey, Robby?"

"Yeah?" He asked, now poking the twigs on the end.

"How many times have you play Quidditch?" He asked, knowing the answer was not going to be good.

"Well, um...it depends on how you count-"

"How many times, Robby?" He demanded tiredly.

"Once," he admitted.

"Great," James said shortly. "This'll go wonderfully."

Madam Hooch announced the Gryffindor team and they set off to the middle of the field, where James shook his head with the Ravenclaw Captain.

"Gryffindor's seeker has been injured, so they've taken in a substitute Chaser and had Chaser Ayla Torres take over as seeker for the match!" Seth announced through his microphone

The team took off into the air and Ayla flew high above the others, squinting around in search of the Snitch.

She saw Robby dive to catch the Bludger, resulting in Albus facepalm-ing. James flew over to him, knocked the Bludger away from him with his bat, and turned to Robby.

"Yeah, that's not the Quaffle. You're after the big red one." He then flew after the other Bludger, which was ricocheting toward Quinn Logan, who was currently in possession of the Quaffle. He shot it through the leftmost hoop and Ayla cheered. Robby grabbed the Quaffle and shot it through the wrong hoops, right past Cormac and into their own hoop.

"Are you kidding me?" Cormac bellowed as the ten points were given to the Ravenclaw team. James dropped his head into his hands, then looked up to whack away a Bludger. Robby caught on and tried to shoot for the correct hoops, but the Keeper whacked the Quaffle away.

Ayla continued hovering above the field, scanning for the Snitch.

"Ooh-Ravenclaw scores," Seth announced glumly. "Ravenclaw scores again...another ten points for Ravenclaw...yet another Ravenclaw score..."

James watched, knowing that Robby was horrid at Quidditch, and that the other two Chasers were far too shaken up to play well, and thought of an idea. They needed to distract the Ravenclaw keeper. He flew over to Ayla and stopped his broom next to her, beating away the Bludgers that flew by. "You need to distract their keeper."

"How?" She demanded absently, still looking for the snitch.

"Flirt with him," James said, but before he could elaborate, he dove to smack a Bludger away from Quinn.

Ayla zoomed over to the Ravenclaw keeper, parking her broom a few feet from him. He glanced at her.

"What's up with your team today?" He asked, kicking away the Quaffle that Quinn had shot toward him.

"They're freaked out that our seeker is missing," she explained. Natalie shot the Quaffle toward the right hoop and it flew through without the keeper noticing. Ayla concealed her smile.

"Oh," he said slowly. "Well, this is almost boring. I'm barely even doing anything," he said as another shot went through without him noticing.

"At least you look hot doing it," she said boldly, forcing the unwilling words out of her mouth.

"Really?" He asked, flying over to her as another shot went through.

"Dude!" One of his chasers bellowed. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm busy; leave me alone!" He said dismissively, then turned back to look at Ayla.

"I'll let you get back to your keeping," she said with a smile. "Come talk to me after the game." She winked and flew away as he stared after her, still hovering two feet to the left of the leftmost hoop. Two more shots went through and Ayla grinned, returning to her previous spot to watch over the field.

"Wronski Feint," James hissed as he flew past Ayla. She nodded subtly, then waited a few seconds for him to move away and then dove as if she had spotted the snitch. The Ravenclaw seeker spotted her and chased her down, but she pulled up at the last second, while he crashed into the ground. His fist hit the grass angrily and he clambered back up on his broom, but it was too late. Ayla had already flown back up and grasped the snitch that was fluttering by the Ravenclaw hoops. She held up the snitch and the crowd erupted into applause.

"Yes!" James and Albus bellowed together, both soaring towards her on either side and hugging her from the side.

"Ayla, that whole 'charming the keeper' thing was _awesome_," Albus told her as they landed.

"It was James's idea," she said, grinning.

"I'll bet it was," Albus said with a laugh and James shot him a look.

The rest of the team landed and they all headed up to the hospital wing to visit Louis. Ayla caught sight of Brad lying on a bed in the corner and quickly looked away. Louis sat up in his bed and the team gasped. He was covered in boils that looked infected.

"You've got competition, Lou!" James declared, flopping down on the vacant bed next to him. "Guess who played seeker?"

Louis's eyes fell on the snitch in Ayla's hand and he raised his eyebrows. "Judging by the fact that none of you can stop smiling, I assume you won?" The team nodded vigorously and Louis grinned. He noticed Natalie staring at him in concern and laughed. "If you think this is bad, you should've seen it yesterday," he said, gesturing to his boils.

"When are they letting you out?" James asked seriously.

"Madam Pomfrey says I should be good by tomorrow afternoon."

"Good," James said with a grin. "I've got some work for all of you."


	35. Chapter 35

**Just so you know, all of the Quidditch moves I included in here are not my own thinking; I found them online. They were not included in the books but they were included in different things made for Harry Potter (video games, spin-off books, etc.) so if you want more information on them, you can look them up! :) Please review!**

By the time that Christmas came near, a lot of things had changed within the group. Lily was beginning to move from grief to fury regarding Brad's cheating. Bradley had left the hospital wing and returned to his habit of flirting with every female in sight. Now that the relief of staying at Hogwarts had passed, Ayla was beginning to feel the neglect from her mother that Albus and James had thought she would have felt before.

On the last day before break, she sat through Charms taking copious notes, then headed to Arithmancy, using the time turner. She sat in her usual seat and began the work that was written on the board using her textbook. The class chatted amiably while they worked.

"Are you okay?" Tristan asked absently as he bent over his book. "You seem a little off."

"Yeah, I'm fine," she murmured, her quill scratching against her parchment.

"Sure you are," he muttered sarcastically, flipping the page of his textbook.

"It's just family stuff," she said brusquely. "You wouldn't understand."

"Hey, I have a family," he protested.

"Ah, that's reason number one why you wouldn't understand," she noted, looking down at her book rather than at him. In her peripheral vision, she saw him look up in confusion and stare at her for several seconds, waiting for her to elaborate.

"What'd you get for number four?" He grunted and she smiled in relief, glancing at his paper.

"You got it right," she told him and he grinned, turning back to his paper.

When classes were over that day, there was an enormous feast at dinnertime to commence the holiday break. Ayla and her friends were staying for Christmas; Brad was the only one returning home.

Before the feast, Ayla sat in the common room with Albus, James, Liam, Hugo, and José.

"Has anyone seen Lily all day?" Albus asked and everyone shook their heads.

"She wasn't in class," Ayla said, concerned. "I can check my dormitory." She pushed aside the pillow that had been on her lap and was about to stand up when the dormitory door opened and a girl emerged from it. She was wearing a tight black dress that was so short that it looked more like a stretched shirt. Her eyes were caked in thick dark makeup, and neon streaks had been painted into her orange hair, which had been teased until it was voluminous enough to fill the entire width of the doorframe. The girl was Lily.

"Holy crap, what the hell happened to you?" James demanded and Ayla smacked him lightly.

"I got it," Ayla murmured to the shocked faces around her and dashed over to Lily, ushering her back into the dormitory.

"What are you doing?" Lily demanded rudely.

"Trust me, you'll thank me for this," Ayla told her. She lowered Lily into the chair in front of her makeup table and grabbed her muggle camera from her beside table, snapping a photo of Lily. She sorted through her pictures until she found a different picture of Lily that had been taken over the summer, and showed it to her. "Look what's happened," she said, holding the camera in front of Lily and flipping between the two pictures.

Lily's angry expression faded and tears filled her eyes. "What the hell did I do to myself?" She demanded, looking in the mirror with horror.

"It's okay, the makeup will come off," Ayla assured her.

"Not these," Lily moaned, pointing to the streaks in her hair. "They're permanent."

"We'll figure something out," she said soothingly, and grabbed a bottle of makeup remover, soaked a cotton ball in it, and began wiping gently at Lily's eyes. She threw the used cotton balls into the trash bin, then picked up her wand. She gathered together all of the hairs that had been dyed and pointed her wand at them. "_Colovaria_," she said clearly, and her hair returned to its usual color, but it was still tangled and large. "Come on," she said, helping Lily up and guiding her to the bathroom. Lily tilted her head back into the sink and Ayla rinsed out her hair, then pulled her back into the dormitory and performed a drying spell on her hair.

"Better?" She asked Lily, leaning over the back of her chair.

"Way better," Lily said graciously and Ayla smiled.

"Now, let's change you out of that dress," she said with a chuckle.

"It's pretty bad, isn't it?" Lily asked humorously as Ayla handed her a change of clothes.

"Yeah, you could say that!" Ayla agreed, laughing.

Lily gave a laugh as well, which quickly turned into silent tears. "Thank you," she said softly to Ayla once she had changed. She hugged Ayla tightly. "I owe you one."

Ayla shook her head. "No, you don't. What are friends for?"

"I'm just glad our roommates went home for the holidays," Lily giggled as they exited the dormitory. Ayla laughed and slung her arm around her best friend as they met the boys in the common room and headed to the feast.

X.

Lily slunk back into her grief for a few more days, but she could tell that things were beginning to look up. Ayla entered the dormitory in the middle of the day on the first Saturday of break and saw Lily lying in bed.

"Come on, up you get," she declared, kneeling on Lily's bed.

"What?" Lily groaned, burying her face in her pillow.

"I've got a guy for you," Ayla announced, grinning and Lily sat up, suppressing a smile at her best friend.

"Ayla, I don't need a guy," she told her and Ayla grinned mysteriously.

"Maybe you will when you hear that it's the guys' roommate Nate."

Lily raised her eyebrows, sitting up farther. "Well..." She began apprehensively. "He is pretty cute," she admitted and Ayla beamed, standing up and holding out her hands to pull Lily out of bed.

"Yay!" She squealed as Lily stood reluctantly. "He's in the common room."

"Wait, does he know about what happened with Brad?" She asked before they could walk out the door.

Ayla nodded. "He hasn't spoken to Brad since; he's pissed at him."

Lily smiled. "Smart guy," she noted. Ayla grinned and held open the door, exiting the common room as Lily sat next to Nate on the couch. She went down to lunch to meet Albus, James, Hugo, Liam, and José.

"Hey," James greeted her as she sat down, passing her a goblet of water. "Where were you?"

"Setting Lily up with Nate," Ayla said with a smile.

"Nice!" Hugo exclaimed. "They can bond over their mutual hate for Bradley at the moment."

"Can we join that club?" Albus growled, shoving bread in his mouth.

Ayla gave him a look of deepest agreement as she moved some food onto her plate. Ayla glanced down at José, who was shaking his leg and looking around nervously.

"You okay, José?" She asked him and he glanced at her.

"We'll see," he muttered, stirring his food absently. Ayla frowned but dropped the subject.

Professor McGonagall approached their rather empty table, looking even angrier than usual.

"Mr. Ballar," she snapped at José. "Come with me."

José looked agonized but not surprised as she followed her out of the Great Hall.

"What d'you reckon that's about?" James asked through a mouthful of pudding.

"I don't know..." Ayla murmured anxiously, staring at the doors that he had just passed through.

"Does he get in trouble a lot?" James asked curiously, following her gaze.

"Sometimes," Ayla admitted quietly, looking down and turning over her potatoes with her fork.

"I'm sure it's fine," Albus assured her, passing her a plate of pudding. She declined and took a sip of her water.

After the feast, they returned to the common room to find that José still had not returned and that Lily and Nate were no longer on the couch. They waited on the couches for José while James blurted out various guesses of what he could have done. José finally entered an hour later, looking thoroughly shaken up.

"Hey, what happened?" Ayla asked eagerly, twisting in her spot to look at him.

"She, uh..." He began, then cleared his throat and sat down. "I've got a month of detention."

"What'd you do?" James asked, leaning toward him.

"I, uh...I stole some stuff from one of my roommates," he said shamefully, sinking down in his seat.

"What did you take?" James demanded excitedly and Ayla gave him a reproachful look.

"Just some tests from his bag," he said and James screwed up his face.

"You got a month's detention for stealing _test answers_?"

"Well, I kind of sold the answers out to people," he said quietly and James nodded slowly.

"Look, I know what you're all thinking-" José began.

"Yeah, why the hell didn't you sell any to me?" James burst out and Hugo smacked him alongside the head.

"Ayla, can I talk to you?" José asked and Ayla nodded, following him out of the portrait hole and into the hallway. He shoved his hands in his pockets and took a deep breath. "I, uh...I just have regular detention. You know, in the detention chamber. And, um, Asbaum is running it, so there's no way he'll let me out."

"And?" Ayla asked, concerned.

"And, uh, the day after tomorrow...I'm going to need to get out."

"For what?"

José looked around, looking rather upset. He was scuffing his shoe against the floor and blinking rapidly. "Uh, my adoptive parents...you know, the ones who gave me up because of wizardry...they want to meet with me. I don't know why, and I'm kind of scared," he admitted. "But that's the only time they can meet and it's during my detention. Do you think you can help?"

"You need me to get you out of detention?" She asked and he nodded.

"Could you?" He pleaded apprehensively.

"Yeah, of course," she assured him. He grinned in thanks and turned back to the portrait, but she grabbed his shoulder. "José?"

"Yeah?"

"What did you really do to get detention?" She asked knowingly and he frowned.

"I told you, I sold the test answers-"

She gave him a knowing look and he sighed.

"I, um, I _did _sell the test answers. But I also, uh, I also sort of stole some other stuff from my roommates too. And sold it," he muttered in a barely audible voice and Ayla's face fell.

"José, I thought you were done with all of that," she said helplessly and he shrugged ruefully.

"I needed the money," he grumbled, looking away from her.

"For what?" She asked desperately.

"Just to have money, all right?" He snapped. "I've never known what that was like."

"Alright, look," she said seriously, stepping closer to him and gritting her teeth slightly. "I'll help you get out of detention tomorrow, but don't expect me to keep coming to your rescue when you get into trouble. I already bailed you out of Juvie once when you were eight; I'm not going to do it again."

"Got it," he said quietly, looking down. She stepped back and recited the password to the fat lady. "Thanks, Ayla."

"Yeah," she said blandly, walking over and sitting down in an armchair while José retreated to his dormitory. Lily returned a few minutes later and smiled when she saw Ayla, Liam, Hugo, Albus, and James.

"Hey! How'd it go?" Ayla asked excitedly as Lily sat on the arm of her chair.

"He was really nice," Lily said with a grin and the group continued chattering amongst themselves.

"Are you going to go out with him again?" Ayla asked, looking up at Lily.

Lily shook her head. "He, uh, he agreed to come out tonight to get closer to you. He has a crush on you."

Ayla's face fell. "I've never even really spoken to him, I—"

Lily beamed at her. "Ayla, it's fine," she laughed. "Being out tonight opened my eyes and made me realize...I'm going to be okay. I'm fine without Brad."

"You deserve better," Ayla told her honestly and Lily smiled warmly.

"So, Nate's got a crush on you..." She said again after a moment, grinning and raising her eyebrows.

"He wouldn't if he knew me," Ayla said distantly, shaking her head. Her hand subconsciously traveled to the scars that disfigured her skin, reminding her of her horrible past.

X.

On the day of José's meeting with his adoptive parents, while he was in detention, Ayla darted into the common room and knelt on the floor between James and Al's spots on the couch.

"I need you," she declared pleasingly.

"What is it?" Albus asked, sitting up.

"I need you to pull a prank that will distract Professor Asbaum so José can sneak out of detention."

"Pranking is what we do best," James said with a broad grin. "Let's get to work, bro!" He said to Albus and they both ducked into James's dormitory. They returned moments later with their pockets stuffed.

"Okay, I'm going to be waiting outside the window of José's detention on my broom. He's in the detention chamber, so if you could do something in that corridor that will make Asbaum come out into the hallway, then José can climb out the window and onto my broom."

"Alright," Albus agreed cheerily.

"We're on it," James added solemnly.

"Thank you!" Ayla exclaimed, hugging them both tightly and dashing into her dormitory.

She clambered onto her broom, opened the window, and flew out, then made her way over to the window outside the detention chamber. She peered inside and saw that he was sitting just in front of the window. She cracked it just enough to hear inside and waited until she heard a loud explosion followed by a deafening clatter.

"Stay where you are!" Professor Asbaum commanded sharply, and swept out of the chamber, locking the door behind him to ensure that the students could not leave.

Ayla rapped lightly on the window and José whirled around, grinning when he saw her. He shoved the window all the way up and Ayla turned her broom so that he could climb on behind her. She landed on the ground and hopped off.

"Okay, take my broom and get to your meeting. I'll see you later. Good luck!" She called after him as he took off. She sprinted back up to Gryffindor tower, where Albus and James were already waiting and both laughing.

"We used some Decoy Detonators from our uncle's shop; that's what the noise was! And then we got someone in the detention chamber to stick a chair under the door so that even if Ass-bomb uses magic to unlock the door, he won't be able to get back in," Albus explained, laughing. "And he won't want to explode the door in case there are students right behind it. So José's got some time to get back."

"Thank you both so much!" Ayla said graciously, kissing each of them on the cheek. Both of them seemed flustered.

James went to his dormitory after a few minutes, and Albus turned to Ayla.

"So, did you figure out the thestrals yet?" He asked and Ayla shook her head glumly.

"I've been researching it some more, but I haven't found anything."

"Do you remember what I told you right before we went to see Hagrid?" He asked, looking into her sleep-deprived eyes. "About how you don't have to handle everything on your own?"

She looked down, fidgeting with her hands slightly.

"There's got to be someone else you can ask, Ayla," he told her.

"I know, but I'm just...I don't think that way. Growing up, I never had anyone to help me with anything and—"

"_But you do now_," Albus said fiercely. "The first step to the future if letting go of the past, Ayla," he said sincerely, then realized how incredibly serious that sounded.

"Look who's turned into a life coach!" She joked and he laughed but quickly grew serious again.

"Really, Ayla, look how much progress you've made since you got to Hogwarts. The next step is to realize that your life has changed— that you've changed—and that you have people to rely on."

"Right now I do, but..." She shook her head, looking away.

"You don't trust people to stay around," he finished quietly.

"Well, look what happens when I do," she said wearily. "I finally trusted my mom after she said she wanted to be a family and now she's gone."

"Hey, no one here is going to do that," Albus assured her desperately, putting his arm around her comfortingly. "We're all here for you and we're not going to ditch you like your family." He smiled bracingly for a moment. "So, you want to go ask McGonagall about the thestrals? She's brilliant, maybe she'd know."

A horribly familiar voice sounded behind them and Albus and Ayla stood to see Natasha. "I know why you can see the thestrals," she declared, sitting down across from them.

"Natasha," Ayla greeted her civilly. "Been a while."

Natasha gave a noncommittal grunt. "I know why you can see them," she repeated.

"Do tell," Ayla invited calmly.

"I asked Madam Pince in the library because I was researching the same thing and couldn't find out. People who were a victim of an attempted, but unsuccessful, murder can sometimes see thestrals. Not a wizarding type of murder...a muggle-type murder."

Ayla felt suddenly light-headed, sinking down on the couch, and Albus whipped his head around to look at her.

"Is that...I mean, would that fit?" He asked and she nodded slowly.

"Tasha, why were you researching that?" She asked curiously.

"I heard you talking about it on the first day," she admitted unwillingly. "I was nearby when you said you could see them."

"Who tried to—was it—your father?" Albus stammered and Ayla nodded. She pulled aside her sleeve to reveal the scar on her shoulder again. Natasha turned away with a sharp intake of breath that the other two ignored.

"Remember the story I told you about the knife?" She began and Albus nodded. "He was aiming for my neck. I moved just in time," she whispered shakily and Albus began trembling. "His aim was a little off because he'd been drinking, and I moved aside while he was bringing down the knife, and..." She broke off, seeing the horrified expression on Albus's face.

Albus gulped and looked down. He had known that Ayla's life had been threatened by her father many times, but he had never known that he had come so close...he tried to imagine his life without her and felt as though a boulder had been lodged in his throat.

"That's what the cops should do now to test if someone is drunk," Natasha joked. "Check their aim with a knife."

Albus and Ayla glared fervently at her.

"Thought we were good," Ayla said coldly. "Remember that little truce we made?"

"Remember me telling you I wasn't going to start acting nice to you?" Natasha returned icily, then stalked out of the common room.

"You two formed a truce?" Albus asked, eyebrows raised.

Ayla forced a laugh. "I got tired of all our fighting so I tried to get her to agree to somewhat of a peace treaty," she explained and Albus nodded.

"Guess that didn't work," he said, realizing that Ayla did not want to discuss what had just been revealed.

"Well, I'm going to wait in the entrance hall for José," she announced. "And then I'll get some sleep. Tomorrow's Christmas Eve," she said happily and he smiled, still slightly shaken.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow," he agreed, heading to his dormitory while Ayla exited the common room.

She walked down to the entrance hall and sat on the steps, anxious to hear about what happened at José's meeting.

Tristan emerged from the Great Hall and into the otherwise empty entrance hall, grinning in surprise when he saw her. "Hey, what are you doing down here?" He asked, sitting next to her on the staircase.

"Waiting for my little brother to get back," she replied, not realizing until afterward that she had referred to José as her brother. "Uh, I mean—my friend. He's like my brother," she explained awkwardly. "Anyway, uh, what about you?"

"Oh, late night snack," he answered, holding up a cupcake in his right hand and taking a bite then offering it to her. She shook her head and looked toward the door. "So, where's brother Torres tonight?" Tristan asked, leaning back.

Ayla laughed. "His name's José Ballar, and he's visiting his parents," she said somewhat truthfully.

"Ah, the parentals," he repeated, leaning back farther. A thought seemed to occur to him, and he sat up, resting his elbows on his knees. "Speaking of, what was that thing about in Arithmancy? When you implied you didn't have a family." Ayla glanced at him and he hastily relented. "No pressure to tell me," he added swiftly.

"What do you want to know?" She asked, slightly wary.

"How about this: describe your family situation in three words or less," he said, spreading his hands reasonably.

She couldn't help but grin. "Alright, fine," she agreed, thinking. "Alone," she answered after considering it. It was quite variable; he could take that to mean many different things. "Your turn."

"Okay, um..._high expectations._" He deepened his voice in what Ayla assumed was an impression of his father. "_I raised my son to become an Auror, and that is what my son will be_."

"That's rough," Ayla said genuinely, sympathy for him coming to the surface. He shrugged it off, but there was a hardened look in his eye.

"He wanted to be an Auror but his grades weren't high enough," he explained. "So he wants me to live that dream for him."

"Do you have any interest in becoming an Auror?" She asked curiously. "If I'm pressing for information, you don't have to say anything," she assured him but he shook his head dismissively.

"No, not at all, you're fine. And, er, no, not really. I wish I did because I want to make him proud but it's just not what I want to do." Before Ayla could answer, he changed the subject. "Anyway, I was wondering, um..." He cleared his throat and looked around as if making sure they were alone. "If you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me on Saturday. It's three days after Christmas, so I figured it might not be too crowded. W-would you, um, would you want to?"

"Oh!" She exclaimed, caught off guard slightly. "Y-yeah, I'd love to."

"It'll be sort of like a second date," Tristan said with a grin and Ayla laughed loudly.

"_Second_?" She repeated. "Tristan, dragging me to the library with you so you can copy my Arithmancy homework does not count as a date!"

"Fine," he relented with a grin. "A first date then. How's that?"

"Perfect," she said, smiling at him. Just then, the doors opened and José stood in the entrance hall. Ayla leapt to her feet. "James and Al got someone to barricade the door shut. We need to get you back to the detention chamber and hope Asbaum hasn't found a way in yet." She turned back to Tristan apprehensively and José nodded at him.

"I'll wait outside," he said quietly, stepping through the door.

"I, uh, I'll see you later," she said, smiling. "I've got to get José back into detention." Tristan raised his eyebrows. "Long story," Ayla said hastily, then smiled again. "Bye."

"See you, Ayla."

Ayla dashed out the front doors to meet José, where they both climbed onto the broom. "Good news or bad news?" She asked anxiously and he didn't answer for a moment.

"Neither, I guess. I'd just gotten my hopes up, that's all. I'll explain later," he said as Ayla stopped the broom in front of the window outing the detention chamber. She peered in to see that the chair was still lodged under the door. "Okay, you're good," she whispered to José, edging the window up. She turned the broom so he could climb in. He turned and leaned out the window, looking at her seriously.

"Thanks, Ayla."

"Anytime, bud," she replied, and hovered in the air while he closed the window before landing softly on the ground.

X.

Later, in the common room, Ayla waited with James and Albus, who were the only two still awake, for José to return from detention. He walked in at a few minutes past midnight, and Ayla sat up, her eyes wide and alert. He sat down next to her, looking upset. He opened his mouth to explain what had happened but James cut across him.

"Did Asbuam end up getting in?" He asked eagerly; he and Al were both leaning forward on their armchairs.

José sighed, but gave a small smile. "Um, no, at midnight he just pounded on the door and said we could go. Then he said that if he found out who did it, he'd see to it that they were expelled."

James and Albus howled with laughter and Ayla gave them both meaningful looks. Albus stopped laughing immediately.

"Oh-it was bad news, wasn't it?" He realized, his face ashen.

José looked down. "The reason they wanted to meet was, uh, I had sent them an owl a few days ago. Just catching up, you know? They told me tonight that when they gave me up, it wasn't just because I didn't really need a place to stay anymore, but it was because they didn't want to see me anymore. They thought it best for us not to talk. So...that's that." He was picking at a loose stitch on his jeans the entire time.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Ayla said softly, putting a comforting arm around his shoulders.

"I was stupid for getting my hopes up," he muttered.

Albus gave Ayla a sad smile that clearly said _he sounds like you__. _

"I'm sorry, José," she said, her voice breaking slightly.

"Like I said, I never should've gotten my hopes up," he said regretfully, shaking his head. "Reckon you know that feeling."

"Yeah, I sure do," she agreed, then tightened her arm around him. "Hey, this is all going to blow over, alright?"

He nodded, still looking down. "Yeah, I know. I'm going to bed," he said wearily, standing up and walking to his dormitory without saying goodnight.

Ayla sighed and sunk down on the couch, wishing there was something she could do to help him.

"Poor guy," Albus murmured sadly.

"Thank you guys for tonight," Ayla said genuinely. "I owe you big time."

They both shook their heads to say it was no big deal.

"So," James said, his face spreading into a grin as he changed the subject. "You guys psyched for the Quidditch match? Big New-Year Tradition! One more week!"

Ayla beamed. "It's going to be _awesome_," she agreed.

"Definitely," James said, grinning even wider. "With Louis's new Wronski Feint and your new D'Orazio dive, we are going to be _golden_."

Albus's eyes glinted as he smiled hugely. "I can not _wait _to see the look on Scorpius's smug little face when we win."

"What does he play?" Ayla asked curiously.

"He's Slytherin's seeker," Albus replied.

"Too bad he's not a chaser..." James mused. "You could pretend to do a D'Orazio dive over him and try to kick him in the head on the way."

Ayla laughed and glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was nearly one in the morning. "Oh—I've just realized! It's Christmas Eve now. Merry Christmas, you two."

"Merry Christmas," Albus returned, beaming at her.

"'Tis the season," James grumbled and Ayla and Albus stared at him.

"James, why do you hate everything spirited?" Ayla half-joked, smiling at him.

"Hey—Quidditch is spirited! You know, team spirit! I don't hate that! And I like parties!"

Ayla laughed and stood up. "Well, I'm going off to bed," she announced. "Night, guys."

"Night," they both returned as Ayla entered her dormitory.

She changed into her pajamas as quietly as she could, trying not to wake Lily, and then crawled into bed, lying awake until the clock read six o'clock and she decided she'd rather just get up than try to fall asleep then. She stood up, stretched, and walked into the common room in her pajamas, sitting on the couch only to realize that she had lowered herself onto someone's legs. She leapt up with a yelp of shock.

Tristan sat up, rubbing his eyes groggily. "Hey, Ayla," he murmured thickly, yawning. "What're you doing up?"

"Never fell asleep," she replied, sitting down. "Why were you sleeping on the couch?"

"Hugo snores," he answered with a great stretch that initiated many cracking sounds from his joints. "Hey, Merry Christmas Eve."

"Thanks, you too," Ayla said with a smile.

James emerged into the common room, shirtless and scratching his head. "Oh, hey," he greeted Ayla through a long yawn. "T'sup, man?" He added to Tristan, flopping down in an armchair.

"I'm going to grab a shower," Tristan announced. "With any luck, the water will be loud enough to drown out Hugo's deafening snores."

Ayla laughed as he headed to his dormitory, then turned to James, pulling her knees to her chest. "How come you're up so early?"

James shrugged tiredly, slouching even further in his seat. "I couldn't sleep."

"Me neither," Ayla agreed and James lifted his head.

"Huh," he said in surprise. "I'd' have thought you'd spend all break sleeping, considering it's the only time all year you _can _sleep, with your schedule."

Ayla laughed weakly at the truth of that. "Good point," she admitted. She changed the subject and a mysterious grin spread across her face. "_So..._" She began, raising her eyebrows. "Any love interests this holiday?"

He couldn't bring himself to flash the huge grin he normally would have given her. "Y-yeah, I've got one," he said, gazing at her and knowing she would have no idea that he was talking about her.

"James Potter, I need details!" She exclaimed, beaming and scrambling to sit up. "Is it serious?"

"We'll see someday," he said mysteriously, looking down. "I hope we will."

"You should ask her out!" Ayla exclaimed. "She probably likes you!"

"Doubt it," James muttered.

"Can I guess who it is?" Ayla asked eagerly and James finally grinned.

"You can try."

"Okay, is it...Natalie Peakes from the Quidditch team?"

James blinked. "No."

Ayla bit her lip, thinking hard and James gulped, looking away before he found himself staring at her. After she had guessed about a dozen girls, a very cute blonde girl stepped out from her dormitory and into the common room.

"Hi, James," she said flirtatiously, batting her eyelashes and smiling at him. He nodded once at her and turned back to Ayla. The girl looked rather affronted and stalked out of the common room. Ayla looked between James and the portrait that the girl had slammed behind her.

"Wow, you must be really serious about this girl," Ayla said, stunned.

"What d'you mean?" He asked obliviously.

"That girl that just walked through," Ayla pointed out.

"What about her?" James asked innocently and Ayla shook her head, shocked.

"Who are you and what have you done with James Potter?"

Another girl, this time with long, light brown hair and a pretty smile, said hello to James as she passed through the common room, getting even less of a reaction out of him and seeming rather stung.

"And again!" Ayla exclaimed when the girl left. "What's gotten into you?" After a moment, she figured it out—or she thought she did. "Are you changing the way you act to make this girl like you?" She asked, looking upset.

"Y-yeah! Yeah, that's it," he lied.

"James, you can't let anyone do that to you!" She exclaimed sincerely. "If she doesn't like you for who you are, then don't give her a second thought! You deserve better."

Feeling guilty for lying, James reverted to the conversation a few minutes before. "You never finished guessing who it is."

"Oh, right. Okay, um..." She fell into deep thought. "Hmm, can you give me a hint? What does she look like?"

There it was, the question James had been dreading. How was he supposed to describe Ayla's own appearance to her without her making the connection. "Um...well, she's..." He gazed at her, meeting her eyes and felt as though his insides were melting. "She's beautiful," he said softly. "B-but I don't think she knows it. She's got long dark hair that looks really soft...and really big eyes..." He smiled softly before adding the last detail of her appearance. "And her body, I mean it's..." He blew out his breath and widened his eyes, nodding approvingly.

"And there it is," Ayla muttered, slightly disgusted but also relieved to have James's normal personality back. "Anyway, it looks like people are starting to get up so I'm going to go get ready. Merry Christmas Eve!" She added brightly, stepping into her dormitory.

James watched as her hair swung lightly behind her when she turned to wave at him before closing her dormitory door. He closed his eyes and ran his hands over his face, leaning back on the couch and sighing deeply.

X.

The Christmas Eve feast was nearly as incredible as that of the following night. The students had only filled two tables in the Great Hall, and the staff milled around, chatting to different students instead of sitting at the High Table. On Christmas night, Ayla sat between Albus and Lily at the feast, with James across from her.

Professor Ackerley, who had been conversing with a group of giggling Ravenclaw girls, moved on to sit next to James, looking across the table at Ayla.

"I've just been talking to Professor Vector and she tells me you've got a certain talent for Arithmancy," he said, sounding impressed. "I'm Professor Ackerley," he said politely, extending a hand.

Ayla shook it and introduced herself, then realized he had clearly already known her name.

"Do you take Arithmancy?" He asked, addressing Lily and she blushed scarlet, shaking her head. "Ah, pity," he said thoughtfully. "I've known you two were good friends, so I assumed you might have signed up for the same classes."

Ayla smiled at him and Lily blushed even more furiously, looking studiously at her knife and fork.

"Do you like Arithmancy so far?" He asked Ayla, taking a sip from his goblet. Ayla could smell the liquid in his goblet from where she was sitting.

"Yes, sir, it's my favorite subject," she said genuinely, smiling.

"She's the reason I've got top marks," came Tristan's voice, and he sat down, slinging his arm casually over Ayla's shoulders and nodding in greeting to Professor Ackerley. "It pays to sit next to a genius, let me tell you."

Ayla blushed, looking away from Tristan to take a sip of her water. He dropped his arm and reached for a turkey leg.

"So, I assume you'll also be continuing Arithmancy at a higher level?" Ackerley inquired, still speaking formally, but his words were beginning to slur slightly. Lily rushed to refill his goblet and he smiled in thanks.

"Only if I've still got this one to copy homework from," Tristan joked, gesturing toward Ayla.

_Thank goodness it wasn't Professor Asbaum hearing him say that, _she thought as Professor Ackerley laughed.

Lily gazed at him, her elbow slipping off of the table and causing her to fall sideways onto the bench seat. She straightened up, flushing darker than ever as Professor Ackerley asked if she was okay and reached out an arm to help her up. She clung to his arm for much longer than necessary until he pried himself free from her grip.

Once he had returned to the other teachers, Ayla turned with her eyebrows raised to Lily.

"He's so perfect," Lily breathed, still marveling at him. Ayla snapped her fingers in front of Lily's eyes.

"Good thing he was drunk, Lil," Ayla laughed. "Or he probably would have given you detention for the way you were acting around him."

"Was I that obvious?" Lily asked anxiously and there was a chorus of yeses from the group. She blushed again and Ayla laughed.

"It's fine, he was completely wasted," Ayla assured her. She looked around at the teachers again.

"Look at Slughorn," she said to Tristan and they looked over at the potions professor, who had fallen asleep on the floor with a turkey leg in one hand and a bottle of mead in the other.

Ayla took a sip of the butterbeer that had been brought in by Madam Rosmerta from Hogsmeade.

James refilled his firewhiskey goblet again and gulped it down, then refilled it yet again.

"James, you're going to be so drunk," Albus told him, shaking his head. "What is that, your fifth?"

"Depends on who's asking," James retorted, then burst into laughter.

"Oh, no," Albus muttered. "Mate, I'm not really in the mood to haul your drunk ass up to the common room."

"Alright there, _Dad_," James returned, still consumed with inexplicable laughter. "I want to do something FUN," he burst out.

"Uh, James, last time you did something 'fun' when you were this drunk, you got a week's detention for dancing on the staff table," Albus reminded him.

"Yeah, that was fun..." James mused. "But I want to do something fun with someone of the female gender, if you know what I mean," he said with what Ayla assumed was the supposed to be a wink, but looked more like him jerking his head and squeezing his eyes shut. He stood up and darted over to the other side of the table to a random girl. From the expressions on both of their faces as Ayla watched the brief interaction, it looked as though James was saying something extremely inappropriate. The girl screamed and sprinted out of the Great Hall.

"That was a first year," Lily said awkwardly.

"Yeah, before he horrifies any other innocent girls, we need to get him out of here," Albus said.

"On it," Ayla agreed, leaping up and grabbing James's wrist, towing him out of the Great Hall.

"Ooh, where are you taking me?" He asked loudly. "Are you volunteering to be my source of fun?"

Ayla let out a noise of disgust and brought James outside onto the lawn. "Stand up," she pleaded as he would not let go of her. He released his arms and looked down at her.

"What do you want to do first?" James asked provocatively, stepping towards her. She stepped back.

"Get you sobered up," she returned.

"That doesn't sound fun," he slurred, stumbling back and forth. He froze for a moment and then vomited on the grass right in front of her feet, skimming the toes of her shoes.

"Oh," Ayla whimpered in disgust, leaping back.

"I'm sorry," James moaned, clutching his stomach.

"It's fine, here, sit down," she said soothingly, guiding him to the wall of the castle to sit down against. He leaned back against the stone, closing his eyes and looking up.

"I don't feel that great," he murmured.

"No kidding," Ayla said ruefully, shaking her head. "_Accio goblet_," she murmured and an empty goblet soared into her hand from the great hall. She pointed her wand into it and said, "_Aguamenti__._" The goblet promptly filled with water and she handed it to him.

"Thanks," he said wearily, gulping it down. She quickly refilled it. "I'm not a good drunk," he admitted and Ayla laughed.

"No one is," she told him. "Hey, this wasn't as bad as last year."

He laughed and looked at her. "Thanks, Ayla," he said sincerely. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" She asked, handing him another goblet full of water.

"Being a drunk jackass," he muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"Oh, no problem. I mean, I'm used to the jackass part, so—"

He shoved her playfully and she laughed.

"Okay, come on, let's get you to the common room," she said, bending down to help him up. It was harder work than she expected, as his legs seemed to be entirely incapable of supporting his weight. "Come on, you can do it," she told him. "Just pretend you're sober."

He grunted, twisting his legs pointlessly on the ground. She put her arms under his and he wrapped his arms around her neck and she hoisted him up.

"Okay, are you good?" She asked warily, holding up her hands and making sure he was capable of standing on his own. "Alright, stay here, I'm going to run and get Al to help get you upstairs." She dashed into the Great Hall, where Albus saw her in the doorway and bolted over to help, followed by Tristan, Liam, Hugo, and Lily.

"Wha—where'd he go?" Ayla demanded when they stepped outside again. James was no longer where she had left him, and the only thing remaining was the sweater he had been wearing over his t-shirt that was a Christmas present from his grandmother. "Okay, so he's wandering around somewhere on the grounds probably freezing his ass off," Ayla concluded. "James!" She called but there was no answer.

A moment later, they heard a loud howl of laughter followed by a large splash.

"He just jumped into the Black Lake," Albus stated blandly. "That idiot!" They ran to the Black Lake, where they could see James's dark hair sticking up out of the water as he swam. Albus thrashed through the water, grabbing his brother by the back of the shirt and throwing him onto the side of the lake. Ayla handed James's sweater to Albus to warm him up as he climbed out of the lake.

Both boys were shivering violently, and Ayla used a summoning charm to collect blankets from the castle, handing one to each brother.

"Thanks," Albus said through his chattering teeth. Then he turned to James and kicked his leg. "What the hell is the matter with you?" He demanded. "You're drunk; you don't know what you're doing! You could have drowned there, James!"

"Well, I didn't," he slurred, still lying on the grass.

"Only because Albus saved your ass!" Ayla contributed.

James stood up, seeming belatedly sobered up by the icy water.

"Come on, we'll get you to bed," Ayla said, ushering him forward.

"You can help with that," James joked and Ayla stared at him while Lily made a disgusted noise in her throat.

"One second he seems sober and then he's a drunken idiot again," Albus grumbled, grabbing James under one arm and hauling him toward the castle. He was acting drunk again, which made it extremely difficult to get him up to the seventh floor and through the portrait hole.

"Are we going to another party?" James asked loudly as they entered Gryffindor tower.

"Uh-huh," Albus lied, glancing at Ayla and she hid a smile.

"Yeah, James, the next party is really fun," she elaborated as they dragged him into his dormitory. His only roommate who was staying for the holidays leapt up.

"Oh, crap. Is he drunk?" The boy asked.

"Nah, he's just feeling lazy," Albus said sarcastically, grinning as he set James down on the bed. "Hey, man, I'm Albus, James's brother."

"Josh. Roommate," the boy introduced himself. "And you're...James's girlfriend?" He guessed, pointing at Ayla.

"Oh—no. Friend. Ayla." She shook his hand with a smile.

"Oh, you're Ayla!" He exclaimed and Ayla raised her eyebrows. "Never mind," he mumbled awkwardly, sitting on his own bed. He then looked at James and frowned. "Why is he all wet?"

"He took a swim in the black lake," Albus exclaimed, tossing the Weasley sweater from his grandmother Molly on the ground next to James's bed.

"Oh, to sober himself up?" Josh guessed and Albus shrugged.

"Maybe," he considered. "Didn't work, then."

"Yeah, I guess not," Josh laughed, looking at James, who was loudly wondering where the party was.

"Anyway, our friends are outside. If he gives you any problems, come find me and I'll shut him up," Albus told the boy, who laughed and waved goodbye as they left.

They returned to Lily, Hugo, Tristan and Liam in the common room.

"Is he asleep?" Liam asked.

"He'll get there," Albus replied, flopping down and closing his eyes briefly. He looked exhausted.

"Hey, Al, are you okay?" Ayla asked in concern. "You look like you haven't slept in days."

"So do you," Lily pointed out to Ayla and she smiled.

"Yeah, I guess I haven't," she admitted and turned back to Al.

"Can't say I've been sleeping well," he admitted. "But I'm in my O.W.L. year; it's just stupid stuff, don't worry."

"It's break!" Ayla exclaimed. "You don't have classes now."

He grinned at her. "I could say the same to you, Torres."

X.

On the morning of December 28th, Ayla stepped out of her dormitory early in the morning to meet Christian in the common room. She wore jeans with black boots, a warm sweater and a coat with a scarf and hat. It was below freezing outside. Tristan stood in the common room wearing khakis and a long-sleeved shirt, a jacket held in his right hand. She smiled at him as she closed the dormitory door behind her.

"Hey," she said, walking over to him.

"Hey! You ready to go?" He asked, grinning.

They headed out of the portrait hole and down the steps until they reached the Hogwarts grounds.

"Cold out here," Tristan noted.

"Is this the part where I offer you my jacket?" she joked.

Tristan laughed. "No, but it's where I offer you mine." He held out the black coat in his hand and she declined, but jammed her numb hands into her own jacket pockets. "Are you sure?" He asked, surprised. "You're shivering."

"You need it; you'll freeze in that's shirt," she said dismissively and he stopped walking. She turned to face him, confused. Tristan pushed up the sleeves of his shirt and stood in the cold, looking pointedly at her.

"Do I look like I'm cold?" He asked, grinning stupidly.

"Alright, fine, then," she said, slipping his jacket over her own. "Thank you."

"We should go to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop," Tristan suggested as they entered the village. "It's notorious for being a date spot," he told her with a wink and she laughed.

"Sure, wherever you want," she said with a smile. They entered the tea shop to see that most of the couples were kissing. In fact, it seemed to be all couples. Ayla looked around and could not see a single table that was more than two-person.

They sat down at a table by the windows on the left side of the restaurant. Once they had ordered and received their drinks, Ayla stirred her tea with the small spoon on the saucer.

"So, are you taking Arithmancy again next year?" Tristan asked.

"Definitely," Ayla said, beaming. "It's so interesting."

"Oh, _so _interesting," Tristan agreed jokingly, resting his chin in his hand. She swatted at his arm and he laughed, dropping his hands to his lap under the table. "No, I like it, though. At least I've got a good view in class," he said, and she blushed, looking down and smiling. "_You'll _have a good view next year," he laughed.

"What do you mean?" She asked curiously.

"Don't think I haven't noticed how every girl absolutely drools over Professor Ackerley!"

Ayla laughed, leaning back. "Having good-looking teachers really isn't a good thing," she admitted. "I mean, sure, it's fun, but the class never gets anything done because all the students can't stop fawning over the teacher."

"That's a good point," Tristan agreed. "It'd probably be distracting, too. I have no experience with that, though...there aren't a lot of super good-looking female Professors at Hogwarts."

"C'mon-you've got to give it up for Professor Trelawney!" Ayla joked and Tristan burst into laughter loud enough that many of the snogging couples pulled back from their embraces to see where the noise had come from.

"What?" He demanded at a particularly rude-looking couple shooting him incredibly dirty looks. "You're the ones who sound like you're trying to slurp the last bit of liquid through a straw," he snapped and Ayla snorted as Tristan impersonated smacking his lips together loudly. The couple made noises of disgust in their throats and rushed out of the restaurant. "Quite welcome," he said to Ayla, who was consumed in a fit of giggles. "Oh, and I think you're onto something about that Professor Trelawney. I don't take Divination, but I've seen her at feasts..._damn_," he joked and Ayla laughed even harder. "I don't know, though, it's a close call between her and McGonagall," he laughed, making a motion with his hands to imitate weighing options.

"And there's always Slughorn, you know, in case all of that doesn't work out," Ayla added and Tristan let out a laugh that shook his shoulders.

Before he could respond, there was a gasp from a woman two tables away and everyone turned. A handsome young man was bent down on one knee, holding a ring in his hands. A thin blonde woman stood in front of him, her eyes wide and her hands clamped over her mouth.

"Patricia...I love you with all my heart and I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?" The man asked, looking extremely nervous; his brow and the back of his shirt were damp with sweat despite the very cold weather.

"Yes!" The woman exclaimed, tears streaming down he face as he stood up, beaming, and slid the ring onto her finger and kissed her far too fiercely for the public to see.

"Oh, wow," Tristan said, looking away, and even the couples who had been snogging passionately looked slightly disturbed.

"Ayla," Tristan began jokingly, holding out his hands as though there was a ring in them. "Will you leave with me? This place is disgusting."

Ayla laughed and stood up, reaching into her pocket for some money.

"No," Tristan said, holding out his hand to stop her. "I've got it." he placed a galleon on the table and held open the door.

"So," Ayla said as they walked out of the shop. "How was your Christmas?"

"It was really good," Tristan said, grinning. "And the feast was hilarious."

Ayla laughed. "Yeah, it was something!" She agreed, shaking her head. "The teachers get so wasted on Christmas; it's hysterical."

"I've never stayed for the holidays before," said Tristan thoughtfully. "Is New Year's as great as Christmas?"

Ayla nodded eagerly. "The New Year's feast is great. The teachers go crazy. And _hopefully_, there'll be a party during the day, too, if Gryffindor wins the Quidditch game!"

"_If_," Tristan repeated with a snort. "You _will _win, no doubt."

Ayla smiled. "Thanks for the vote of confidence," she said happily. "Slytherin's good, though. I think we'll be able to win, but we've all been practicing non-stop."

"I've noticed," he laughed. "I looked out my window in the middle of the night last week and saw you flying around the grounds at, like, three in the morning."

Ayla laughed, slightly embarrassed. "Yeah, couldn't sleep," she murmured.

"You're a really good flier, Ayla," he said sincerely, and she looked up at the change in his tone. Their eyes met and he closed his, pressing his lips to hers as the snow fluttered past them through the chilly winter air.

X.

On New Year's Eve, the Gryffindor Quidditch team arrived in the changing rooms at seven-thirty in the morning. James paced in front of them as they sat on the benches in front of the lockers. The excitement flooding through the room was palpable.

"Alright—we've got this game choreographed perfectly," James said confidently. "All we've got to do is carry it out as planned." He spun to face them, looking at Louis first. "Try to fit in a Wronski Feint at some point; you've got a really fast broom." He turned to Albus next. "Remember, we're going to try the Dopplebeater Defense."

"Good; I've been waiting five years to whack a Bludger at Scorpius," Albus grumbled, earning a laugh from the rest of the team.

"Cormac, it would be awesome if you could pull off a Double Eight Loop."

Cormac nodded smugly, smirking confidently.

"Okay, Ayla, you know you're doing the D'Orazio Dive—"

Quinn Logan choked on the water he was drinking and Ayla pounded him on the back. "You can do a D'Orazio Dive?" He croaked.

"Where've you been the past six practices, Logan?" James demanded. "Why do you think she flies around the pitch doing flips above her broom?"

Quinn shrugged. "For fun?"

James shook his head. "All three of you—Chasers—if they're about to score a point that'll get them ahead, you can try a Parkin's Pincer. We haven't practiced it, so if it doesn't work, don't worry about it. And you could try a Blitzen Ballet," he suggested, winking at Ayla. "Just suggestions; we need to use as many awesome tactics as possible." He rubbed his hands together, inhaling anxiously. "Alright, you guys ready?"

There was a loud chorus of chanting and cheering from the team and James grinned.

"Five minutes, Gryffindors!" Madam Hooch called, poking her head into the changing rooms.

"Alright, Gryffindor on three!" James announced, sticking out his hand. The rest of the team huddled around him, placing their hands in the circle.

"One, two, three, GRYFFINDOR!" The team bellowed, shooting their hands in the air and launching into a group hug before dashing out to the entrance of the pitch. They listened as Madam Hooch began her introduction.

"Don't be nervous," James told Ayla bracingly, glancing over at Ayla. "You could do the D'Orazio in your sleep at this point."

She nodded bravely, trying to believe him. She gripped her broom tightly as Madam Hooch announced the Gryffindor team and they marched onto the field.

James shook hands with their captain, and they all mounted their brooms. Seth was standing behind the scoreboard, announcing the game again.

Quinn received the Quaffle first, and passed it to Ayla, who zoomed to the hoops and shot it through the leftmost one, missing the keeper's fingertips by just inches.

"And Ayla Torres scores ten points to Gryffindor!" Seth announced enthusiastically.

She caught the Quaffle, tossing it to Natalie, who shot it through the middle hoop and high-fived Ayla as she soared past her.

"Another ten points to Gryffindor! Oh—and a Bludger comes shooting for Quinn Logan, but Albus Potter has sent it away! Way to go, Albus, great hit! Quite a good Quidditch player, he is, and a pretty awesome roommate as well—"

"Seth!" McGonagall exclaimed sharply and Albus snorted, whacking a Bludger toward Scorpius just for fun.

"And Slytherin Chaser Edwin Bole has the Quaffle-"

_This is it, _Ayla thought, zooming after Slytherin's best Chaser. She took a deep breath and leapt off her broom, flipping twice through the air, snatching the Quaffle from him, landing on her broom and shooting it through the middle hoop, where the Keeper was hovering, stunned, unsure of what had just happened. The crowd went silent with shock. The Chaser, Edwin Bole, was looking around, utterly bewildered. Even Scorpius faltered on his broom, his mouth open. Quinn fist-bumped Ayla as he flew past her, grinning. She took advantage of the Keeper's shock to score two more goals while he hovered cluelessly.

"Was that—I think—D'Orazio—" Seth sputtered, then recovered. "That was incredible! Ayla Torres has performed a D'Orazio Dive! Gryffindor has got this in the bag! Go Gryffindor!"

The shocked silence ended as the crowd screamed and cheered, and McGonagall did not even yell at Seth for his bias.

"And Damon Pucey is in possession of the Quaffle!" Seth declared.

"Parkin's Pincer!" James bellowed at his Chasers.

Quinn and Natalie closed in on Pucey, who looked infuriated and confused, while Ayla flew straight toward him from the other direction, causing him to drop the Quaffle and fly upward to escape them. Ayla caught the Quaffle and passed it to Quinn, who shot it in.

"The Slytherin team is getting absolutely hammered here!" Seth exclaimed proudly. "Gryffindor has had quite a few tricks up their sleeves; how long do you think they've been holding those in?"

The Slytherin Keeper had returned to full attentiveness, and the next three shots attempted by Gryffindor were blocked.

"We need to distract him again!" James hissed to Ayla and Natalie, who were nearby, while Quinn made another failed attempt to shoot the Quaffle in. "Do you think you can do the Blitzen Ballet?"

"I can't jump off my broom," Natalie said fearfully. "I'd be too scared to fall."

"Ayla, jump onto her broom," James commanded. "And then shoot; they won't know what hit them."

Natalie and Ayla nodded, setting off toward the Quaffle. Ayla launched herself off her broom, caught the Quaffle, and landed in front of Natalie on her broom, tossing it right past the flabbergasted keeper and through the middle hoop.

"Where are they finding all these techniques?" Seth roared, kneeling on the podium in his eagerness to see every play.

Ayla leapt agilely back onto her broom and beamed at Natalie, who shot her a thumbs-up.

Scorpius dive, seemingly having spotted the snitch and Ayla's heart sank; Louis was nowhere near.

"Now!" James bellowed to his brother and they used the combined force of their bats to whack a Bludger at him, which ricocheted toward him, causing him to shoot backwards to avoid being hit in the head. He looked around frantically, searching for where the snitch had gone, but it was gone. His fist collided with his broom in anger and he shot a livid look at the Potter brothers, who grinned stupidly at him.

The Slytherin Chaser, Damon Pucey, had the Quaffle again and shot for the Gryffindor hoops. Cormac performed a flawless Double Eight loop, zooming through all three loops to ensure that the Quaffle could not pass him. Damon cursed loudly enough for Ayla to hear him across the pitch, and she dived to catch the Quaffle, shooting it through the rightmost hoop, just barely scraping it past the Keeper's reaching hands.

"Nice one, Torres!" James exclaimed as he flew past to hit an oncoming Bludger, then flying back to Albus.

The two of them performed the Dopplebeater Defense again, both hitting the same Bludger toward Scorpius to distract him from his second attempt at catching the snitch, causing him to lose it again.

Meanwhile, the second Bludger came whirring at Ayla, who was about to shoot the Quaffle. The Bludger collided with her left shoulder, resulting in a loud cracking noise. The force of it split open the jagged scar on her shoulder and she felt blood soaking her Quidditch jersey. Her eyes streaming with pain, she whacked the Quaffle through the left hoop, passing the keeper, who was distracted by the blood pulsing out of Ayla's shoulder. He clamped her hand over it, eyes streaming and vision blurring with pain. She saw James and Albus converge to meet her.

"Are you okay?" Albus demanded urgently, pressing on her shoulder in an attempt to stop the excessive blood flow.

"What do we do?" James bellowed.

"Keep playing," Ayla hissed through gritted teeth. The Quaffle was just below her and she used her ankle to kick it over to Natalie. She was becoming light-headed from the loss of blood and was beginning to see stars.

Suddenly, the crowd erupted and James, Albus, and Ayla spun to see Louis holding his fist in the air, the snitch clamped in his fingers.

"Yes!" James shouted, pumping his fist in the air. Albus grabbed Ayla, who was swaying dizzily, and pulled he safely onto his broom. Quinn took hold of Ayla's broom and pulled it with him as they all landed. "We've done it!" James exclaimed. "We've won the Quidditch cup!"

The adrenaline awoke Ayla slightly, and she stood from Albus's arms, still stumbling slightly, but joined the team's huddle.

Madam Hooch presented the Quidditch cup to James and Ayla beamed. The tears in her eyes were now not only from the pain, but from the pride toward her team.

"We'll get you to the hospital wing," James said after several minutes of cheering with the team. He dropped the cup into her hands and scooped her up into his arms, darting into the castle with the rest of the team. Ayla's face had paled and her entire jersey was crimson from the seeping blood.

"At least the Quidditch robes are already red," James joked lightly, and Ayla managed a laugh. "So the stain shouldn't be too noticeable." They reached the hospital wing and Albus thrust open the door while James rushed in and laid her on the nearest bed.

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey demanded frantically, rushing to Ayla, who seemed to have finally passed out.

"She got hit by a Bludger," James explained hastily.

"And she has a scar there," Albus contributed. "And it split open."

Madam Pomfrey gasped, throwing open a cupboard and mixing strange ingredients together while the rest of the team watched. She pulled aside Ayla's sleeve and poured the potion over the wound on her shoulder.

Albus watched in amazement as the wound slowly closed until it looked just like the scar had before.

"It looks like her clavicle is broken as well," Madam Pomfrey said, easily mending it with a wave of her wand.

"She might feel a little dizzy," Madam Pomfrey told James, who was sitting on the end of the bed. "From the blood loss. And her shoulder will be sore for a few days. But she should be alright." She tucked Ayla's arm into a white sling and stepped back as she waited for her to awake.

Ayla's eyes fluttered open. She took a moment to realize what was going on, then saw the Quidditch cup next to the bed and grinned broadly. She stood up to hug the rest of the team, yanking off the white sling.

"Miss Torres-what do you think you're doing?" Madam Pomfrey demanded.

"Oh, I'm fine," Ayla assured her, gesturing to her shoulder.

"No!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed sharply, fastening the sling back around Ayla's arm.

She rolled her eyes in annoyance and gave one-armed hugs to the rest of the team.

"Come on, party in the common room!" James announced. "We got a keg of-" he began, then caught a glare from Madam Pomfrey. "Of lemonade," he finished quietly and she scowled at him, walking away. James laughed and held open the door for the rest of the team and they all entered the common room to a deafening amount of cheering.

Ayla beamed as the Gryffindors applauded loudly. Tristan ducked away from the crowd and approached Ayla once each team member had entered the common room.

"Hey. Nice game today," he said, grinning.

"Thanks!" Ayla said, flashing him a dazzling smile.

"Seriously, that flip thing you did was _amazing_. Oh, and that thing where you jumped on the other girl's broom was crazy! Is your shoulder okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Ayla said dismissively and Tristan raised his eyebrows, plucking at the strap of the sling. "Oh, Pomfrey made me wear it, but I'm fine."

James hurtled over a few minutes later and lifted Ayla up onto his shoulder, spinning around dramatically.

"Put me down!" Ayla squealed, laughing.

"Whatever you say!" He returned, tossing her up in the air so she came back down and landed on the armchair.

"Wow, how gentle," Ayla joked, pushing him lightly.

James laughed and handed her a glass of firewhiskey. "Hey, Ayla, I'm really sorry," he said suddenly, his face ashen.

"For what?" She asked cheerily, sipping the firewhiskey and wincing slightly at its strength.

Albus joined them before James could answer. "Ayla, it was all my fault," he said and Ayla stared between the two boys.

"What are you two talking about?" She demanded, starting to worry.

"I should have been there to hit the Bludger away—this shouldn't have happened!"

Before Ayla could answer, James cut in. "No, Al, it's my fault. I'm the one who called you over to do the Dopplebeater Defense. I shouldn't have—"

"Guys, calm down," Ayla assured them. "I'm completely fine, so you have nothing to be sorry about. Madam Pomfrey fixed my shoulder and we won the match!"

Both Potter boys looked nervous and guilty. "You're not mad, though, right?" James asked.

"Seriously, if I _was _mad, it would be because you guys are feeling too guilty to enjoy the party!" She laughed.

James and Albus grinned. "Okay," they both said in relief.

"Okay, now go get your drink on," she joked. "Oh—except you, James. I'd rather not have my shoes puked on again," she said playfully.

James laughed apologetically and Ayla grinned at him.

Tristan walked over again once James and Albus had rejoined the line for the keg of firewhiskey.

"Hey," he greeted her, sitting on the couch next to her.

"Hey! Enjoying the party?" She asked, grinning.

"Oh, yeah. And more to come tonight, since it's New Year's Eve," he said happily.

"More drunken teachers tonight," Ayla pointed out and Tristan laughed.

"Assuming they've all recovered from Christmas," he added.

Albus tilted the nearly empty keg forward to get the last of the firewhiskey into his cup. He dropped the keg back on the table and took a sip as he got back out of line, catching sight of Ayla sitting with Tristan on the couch laughing. He tilted his head back and downed his firewhiskey in one gulp.


	36. Chapter 36

Ayla curled up on the floor of the common room, hunched over her textbooks that were spread across the table, a sight that her friends were accustomed to seeing.

Tristan sat next to her, staring up at the ceiling. Hugo and Lily were on the armchairs across from her.

"C'mon, Ayla, let's go to Hogsmeade," Tristan pleaded, grabbing her hand lightly. She shook free from his grip and continued writing.

"No, I can't. I have too much studying to do," she murmured.

Tristan frowned, looking at her textbooks. "How are you taking all of these classes?" He asked, picking up her Ancient Runes book. She took it back from him absently, continuing to take notes.

"By studying a lot," she answered snippily, pulling her Arithmancy book forward.

"Can I copy that when you're done?" Tristan asked and Ayla nodded. He grinned in victory.

"Come on," Tristan begged after several more minutes. "We've been sitting here for hours. You told me we could go out today," he said, making a wide-eyed, pleading face.

"God, do you practice that look in the mirror?" She demanded, glancing up and he laughed.

"I'll tell you in Hogsmeade," he laughed, pulling her to her feet.

"Fine, but I'm taking my flash cards," she said, picking up the enormous stack and walking out of the common room. He blew out his breath, shaking his head and following her through the portrait hole.

"There's a party in Hogsmeade tonight," Tristan told her and Ayla groaned half-jokingly.

"I've had enough parties recently," she laughed.

"Come on, New Year's was three weeks ago!" He tried to persuade her and she reluctantly agreed.

"Where's the party?" She asked as they entered the village.

"You know the building where Dominic Maestro's was? The music place?" He asked and Ayla nodded. "Well, that shop closed and they turned the place into a sort of reception hall type thing. They have huge parties pretty much every weekend."

He held open the door and allowed a deafening amount of noise to reach their ears. Ayla winced slightly but entered, where the security guard in the front stamped their hands and let them through.

"This is pretty wild, huh?" Tristan shouted over the music and Ayla nodded. "Let's dance!"

Ayla agreed and followed him onto the dance floor, where Tristan laid his hands on her waist and stood behind her as they danced.

Several songs later, James danced excitedly over, holding two glasses in his hand. He joined in their dancing and handed Ayla one of the drinks.

"Hey!" She exclaimed in surprise. "I was wondering where you were at dinner!"

"Partying it up!" He yelled over the music, downing his drink in one enormous gulp. Albus appeared at his shoulder, grinning broadly.

"I should've known James would have dragged you along!" Ayla laughed and Albus smiled wider. Though Ayla couldn't see him, Albus noticed Tristan looking slightly annoyed at the sudden appearance of Albus and James. Ayla passed her drink to Albus, indicating that she didn't want it.

"Going sober?" James demanded, dancing in front of her. His tie was loosened so that the knot was about halfway down his chest and the top two buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing a light sheen of sweat on his skin.

"Something you should try," Ayla joked and James grinned, taking another swig of his newly refilled glass. Tristan tightened his hands on Ayla's hips as James turned around and continued dancing very close to her.

"Come on, Al, you should dance!" Ayla told him, grabbing his arm. He smiled reluctantly and joined them.

Ayla spun to face Tristan, her hands on his chest, and James turned to dance behind her. She finally took a sip of the drink that James kept offering her, then choked and handed it back to him.

"God, that's awful!" She croaked, wiping her mouth in disgust. James grinned and finished the liquid in the glass.

Tristan resumed his spot behind her, and James complied by moving back in front of her.

After another few songs, Ayla felt Tristan tapping roughly on her shoulder. She turned and saw that he looked rather irritated.

"I'm bailing," he told her, his voice straining to overpower the music. "Party's lame." He left and Ayla bit her lip, glancing at Albus and James. Albus shot her a questioning look and she shrugged helplessly, dashing after Tristan.

"Tristan!" She called, darting through the light cover of snow to catch up with him. "Tristan!" He finally stopped, his hands stuffed in his jeans pockets. "Where are you going?"

"You couldn't just spend time alone with me?" He demanded, rounding on her. "Those two just _had _to show up?"

"I didn't know they were going to be there, Tristan, I didn't even know where we were going! And they're my friends!"

"Friends," he repeated with a derisive snort. "Sure."

"What are you on about?" She demanded angrily and he shook his head.

"You dated one of them for—what, a year?—and the other one couldn't take his hands off you all night!"

"_James_?" Ayla demanded. "James is a player; he's like that with everyone! That has nothing to do with—"

"It has everything to do with it," Tristan snapped. "Have fun with the two perfect Potter boys." He stepped back, holding up his hands. "Whatever this was...it's over." With that, he set off toward the castle.

Albus burst out of the door of the club, looking around for Ayla. James was right at his heels, his shirt now entirely unbuttoned and his tie in his hand.

"Hey, what happened?" Albus asked, hurtling over to her.

"Oh, nothing," she said quietly, avoiding their eyes.

"Did he leave?" James asked, looking over Ayla's shoulder for Tristan.

"Yeah, he got pissed at me and went back to the castle," Ayla said and James and Albus exchanged a glance.

"It wasn't—because of us, was it?" James asked nervously, shifting from foot to foot.

Ayla smiled and shook her head untruthfully. "Nah, it was just a stupid fight."

"Alright, well, you want to come back in?" James asked, gesturing toward the door.

Ayla shook her head again. "No, you go. I'm just going to go back and study."

James nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Alright, I'll see you later, then."

He ducked back inside while Albus watched Ayla head back to the castle.

X.

Ayla continued studying in the common room once everyone else had gone to bed. James stumbled into the common room at around two in the morning, followed by Albus, who seemed to be making sure his brother got in safely.

"He's drunk again," Albus explained when he saw Ayla, dropping James into an armchair and sitting next to Ayla.

"He's okay, right?" Ayla asked quietly to Albus. "I mean, he's been drinking a lot."

"Oh, yeah, he's fine," Albus assured her. "He's just trying to have fun, I guess."

Ayla glanced at James, who was looking dazedly up at the ceiling as though he had never seen it before.

"So, everything okay between you and Tristan?" Albus asked, resting his elbows on his knees.

"I haven't talked to him since he left Hogsmeade, but it's fine. I should be focusing on studying, anyway," she said simply.

"What was going on between you?" He asked curiously. "I mean, were you dating or...?"

"We weren't official, like boyfriend and girlfriend or anything. We just went on a few dates and stuff." She looked down, fidgeting with her quill.

"We completely crashed your date, didn't we?" Albus asked. James was now sleeping on the armchair, a line of drool dripping onto his hand.

Ayla laughed. "No, don't worry about it. I didn't really want to go out tonight. I was glad you guys were there."

"But that's why he called it off?" Albus continued, looking slightly guilty.

"No—well, yeah—but don't worry about it, honestly," Ayla assured him.

Albus looked down, somewhere between hiding a smile and feeling guilty. "Well, I'm going to bed. I'll see you tomorrow." He headed to his dormitory and Ayla returned to her studying until she fell asleep over her textbooks.

X.

Ayla entered Arirthmancy and sat down anxiously at her usual table next to Tristan.

"Hey," she greeted him uncertainly. He stared out the window, not looking at her.

"You don't hate me?" He asked.

"Why would I?" Ayla wondered, confused.

"I don't know, just checking." He finally turned to her. "Look, I really like you Ayla. You're really cool, and you're funny, and you're really cute."

"But..." Ayla murmured for him, knowing what was coming.

"_But_, you were in love with Albus Potter for the longest time. And deny it as you might, that stuff doesn't just go away. Oh, and you might not know it, but...you and James...that's going to happen."

"But we're okay?" Ayla asked, biting her lip.

"You think I'm going to stop talking to you?" He laughed. "Are you kidding? I'd never pass an Arithmancy test again!"

Ayla grinned at him. "Thanks, Tristan."

"No problem, Ayla." He smiled at her. "I mean it."

X.

The following week was finals week for the half-year classes, and midterms week for the full-year elective subjects. Ayla felt that her finals were a breeze, and her midterms for Divination and Care of Magical Creatures were rather easy as well. But her midterms for Arithmancy and Ancient Runes were tougher, and she had spent the few days after finals—including her birthday—anxiously awaiting her results.

Ayla stood nervously in line with Lily, Hugo, Liam, James, Albus, and José to get their results. Brad was a few feet back in the line, studiously ignoring them.

"You go first," Lily said to Ayla as they reached the front, mostly just to end Ayla's obvious panic as quickly as possible. Professor Longbottom, head of Gryffindor house, rushed to reach her file, as he knew how worked up she got over test scores. She flung open her folder when she received it, and despite the fact that she always did brilliantly, she felt a rush of relief when she read her scores.

"Based on the fact that you're not having a conniption, I assume you got top marks?" James asked with a grin and Ayla nodded.

Tristan approached Ayla, holding his folder. "How'd you do in Arithmancy?" He asked.

"124 percent," she answered.

"B-but how?" He sputtered. "The bonus was, like, impossible!"

"It was the only exam I had with a bonus, so I had to get it right!" She exclaimed and he laughed. "What about you?"

"82 percent," he answered gleefully. "My highest mark on any of them! Thanks, Ayla."

"Any time. You've still got me for a whole other semester!"

He laughed. "Good thing, too. I need these grades."

Ayla grinned at him. "Oh—I've got to go," she said when she saw Lily beckoning for her to follow them out of the Great Hall. "See you later!" She called, dashing after her friends.

There was a party in the Gryffindor common room that night, celebrating the end of the first semester.

Ayla approached James about an hour into the party—and after several drinks—and pulled him aside, grinning at him. "Remember when you told me you had feelings for that one girl but you wouldn't tell me who?"

He gulped. _Had she figured it out__? _"Y-yeah."

"_Please_ tell me! I could set you up! If she's in Gryffindor, then right now would be perfect because everyone is in a good mood, and—"

But James cut across her by kissing her. Ayla pushed him back after a moment, confused.

"Are you trying to make her jealous?" She asked and James laughed, his hands still on either side of her face.

"I thought you were supposed to be the smart one," he joked and Ayla's eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh—me?" She realized and James gazed at her.

"Of course," he murmured, bending down once more and kissing her. Stunned, Ayla kissed him back, her hand resting on the back of his neck.

James knew that a few people were staring in surprise, but he did not care. In that moment, he didn't care what his brother would think about this. He didn't care what his friends would think about him kissing his brother's ex-girlfriend. Because he was standing in the common room kissing the only girl who had ever mattered to him so much. The first girl to change his heartbeat.

X.

Ayla was torn. As she laid on the couch with James, his arms around her, she wanted nothing more than to be in a relationship with him. She was flooded with happiness; with the feeling that this was _right. _But she could not silence her mind's voice that was telling her to feel guilty.

_James is his brother, Ayla. His _brother_. With everything Albus did for you, you're really going to start dating his brother? _

"I'll be right back," Ayla said abruptly, scrambling up. She realized a second too late that James had been about to lean in and kiss her.

"Is everything okay?" James asked, alarmed.

"Yeah, it wasn't-I'm not-I'll just be back, okay?" She said awkwardly, exiting the common room to look for Albus. She spotted him walking down the corridor toward the portrait hole. "Al!" She called and he looked up.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked as he reached her.

"I, um, I wanted to tell you something," she said, looking down. "James and I—"

"I know," he interrupted, a soft, sad smile on his face. "I saw you kiss."

"Al, I—" she began, taking a deep breath.

"Are you happy, Ayla?" Albus asked seriously.

Ayla blinked rapidly, tears welling up in her eyes as she saw how incredibly understanding he was being. "Yeah," she admitted, laughing once without humor. "Yeah, Al, I'm really happy."

"Then I'm not going to stand in the way of that," he said solemnly, taking her hand. "You two will be really good together," he told her with all the strength he could muster. "I know you will."

_You let a really good guy go, Ayla, _she thought to herself.

"You should get back to your man," Albus said, managing a feeble grin. "Thanks for coming to tell me, Ayla. I knew you would." He smiled and stepped around her, away from the common room and back down the steps.

X.

Several days later, in the middle of the night, James laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling. He felt his stomach rumbling and stood up, climbing out of bed and shivering as the chilly floor hit the bottoms of his feet.

"Anybody awake?" He asked somewhat loudly but none of his roommates even stirred. He sighed and exited the dormitory, stepping into the common room, heading for the portrait hole with the plan of sneaking down to the kitchens to get something to eat. "Oh—hey!" He said, startled, when he saw his brother sitting in the common room, lying on the couch.

Albus glanced over and said nothing.

"Er...hello, it's James, your brother," he said searchingly but Albus still showed no reaction. "Food?" He offered and Al shrugged, standing up.

"Why not?" Albus muttered, following his older brother out of the common room.

"Oh, so you know Ayla and I are a thing now," James said casually as they entered the kitchen after tickling the pair in the painting over the entrance.

Albus stared at him, gritting his teeth slightly, then turned away, nodding. "She told me," he said shortly.

"Look, Ayla, told me you were okay about it, so why are you treating me like something you scrape off your shoe?" James demanded angrily.

"Because, James, you could have had any girl in this school that you wanted!" Albus bellowed. "Why did it have to be Ayla? Why did it have to be the girl I fell in love with?"

"Has it ever occurred to you that I fell in love with her too?" James shouted hotly.

"Of course it has; we had this conversation, James!"

"Then why are you so mad at me but not at her?" James roared.

"Because you've betrayed me, James! Ayla deserves to find someone she's happy with—"

"Oh, and I don't?" James snapped furiously.

"You do, James, but not with Ayla! You knew I was in love with her and you just swooped in and decided to take her! If you want to know why I'm not angry with her, it's because she's not trying to take you away from me! But you are; you want nothing more than to tear apart anything I ever had with Ayla and have her all to yourself! Ayla's not trying to hurt me. You are," he finished, his voice breaking.

James stared at him for a moment, then grabbed a handful of the nearest food he could find—shredded cheese—and thrust it at Albus, who launched at him.

"You don't really love her!" Albus bellowed. "If you did, you would have told me that! You wouldn't have said that you two are 'a thing' now. If you can't respect her for who she is, then you don't deserve her!"

Furious, James cracked an egg over Albus's head, who grabbed a pitcher of water and poured it over James's head, then dumped a container of flour over it, which stuck to his wet skin and hair. James tackled Albus to the floor, grabbing a handful of leftover spaghetti and flung it at him. They both scrambled to the floor and hurtled to opposite sides of the kitchen. James stuck his fingers in a jar of jam and flicked an enormous clump at Albus, who promptly began spraying him with icing from a long tube. James leapt onto the counter in the middle of the kitchen, heaving a bottle of whiskey at him, which hit the stone wall and cracked, showering Albus in bits of glass and the amber liquid. Enraged, Albus jumped onto the counter as well, grabbing James's arms and wrestling him, his skin stinging from the small bits of glass. He grabbed a mixing bowl filled with custard and dumped it over James's head. James kicked Albus in the shins, causing him to double over in pain, and took the opportunity to crack more eggs over his brother's back.

Albus tackled his brother and the two of them crashed from the counter onto the hard ground with a loud thud that shook the pots and pans hanging from the ceiling.

James was about to lob another handful of spaghetti when he saw Albus slump exhaustedly against the wall.

"What are we doing?" Albus asked wearily, dropping his head into his hands. James blew out his breath, dropped the spaghetti, and slid over to sit with his brother. Albus sighed and looked solemnly at his older brother. "James, it's not that you're not good enough for her; I don't want you to think that that's what I meant. I just fell so deeply in love with her that it's hard to imagine her with anyone else, especially my brother." He took a deep breath before continuing. "We're never going to be the same, you know," he said quietly.

"Maybe I don't want to be the same," James returned. "Maybe I don't like being..._that guy__. _The one who can get any girl he wants but can't hold on to any of them. And I think Ayla can change me," he said quietly.

"You're not her personal project, James," Albus told him. "She's not going out with you so that she can change you, she's going out with you because she likes you the way you are. I might not have a clue what went wrong between us, but _that_ I do know."

"I just don't want to be that guy anymore, Al," James repeated.

"James, _that guy _is you. Only you get to be him. And the girl you claim you love...she likes that guy." He looked appraisingly at his brother. "I can't see why," he added jokingly, "but for some reason she does, so—"

James shoved him jokingly, smiling. "We should head back up to the common room," he said, standing up and extending a hand to Albus, who took it and pulled himself to his feet.

"We didn't actually get anything to eat," Albus realized, grabbing two cupcakes off a tray and handing one to James. "And we should probably clean up in here."

James waved his wand to clean up the kitchen and dug into his cupcake as they made their way up to the common room.

"What the hell happened to you two?" Ayla asked with a laugh. James and Albus jumped in surprise, but saw that Ayla was sitting with Lily in the common room.

"What're you two doing up?" James asked, sitting on the arm of Ayla's chair, inadvertently showering her in flour.

"I think we're more in the place to ask questions," Ayla giggled, looking between the two brothers. Lily nodded in agreement.

James laughed, shaking out his hair in Ayla's direction and spraying more flour on her. She squealed and moved away.

"We had a food fight," James said with a grin. "You know, it was like a throwback to when we were seven and eight years old."

Ayla laughed, looking at him and spinning him around. "Well, Al, you did a thorough job. He is _covered._"

Albus managed a laugh that faded as soon as he saw his brother kiss Ayla on the cheek.

"I'm going to go grab a shower," Albus laughed. "And throw away these clothes," he added as an afterthought, looking at his destroyed clothing. He headed off to his dormitory and Ayla looked down at herself.

"Ugh, James, you got flour all over me," she said, glancing in the mirror on the wall. "I should go shower too."

"Why don't you come in with me?" James suggested, struggling to keep a straight face. "Just, you know, to save water."

"Right," Ayla snorted. "Nice try."

James laughed and kissed her. "G'night, Ayla."

"Night," Ayla said, watching him as he left for his dormitory. Lily looked at her and raised her eyebrows. "What?" Ayla asked and Lily chuckled.

"Nothing at all," Lily said innocently and Ayla laughed.

She was happy. She was incredibly happy with James and incredibly happy with how Albus had handled it. Everything seemed to be going perfectly at Hogwarts. She should have known that wouldn't last.

X.

In mid-march, just days after Albus's birthday, Ayla sat in Defense Against the Dark Arts while Professor Asbaum paced in front of them.

"So far this semester, we have been practicing rather elementary skills," he declared matter-of-factly.

"Whose fault is that?" Liam grumbled, kicking his feet up onto his desk.

"Today we will be starting a new unit, and we will be learning a skill far more useful than anything you have been taught in this class prior to today. We will be studying the concepts of legilimency and occlumency."

The entire class stared at him as though he was speaking a foreign language but Ayla gasped. Lily gave her a questioning look that was instantly wiped away as Professor Asbaum began to explain.

"Of course, I will not be teaching you to use legilimency, but rather, I will be using legilimency and teaching you all occlumency. Occlumency involves blocking your thoughts from any intruders," he said briefly. "Any volunteers?" Everyone seemed to shrink slightly in their seats. "Mr. Cade. Perfect," he said, though Bradley had not raised his hand. He stood up from the seat that was two rows in front of Ayla, Liam, Lily, and Hugo, and stepped up to the front of the classroom anxiously.

Lily leaned over to Ayla. "My dad told me that one of his professors taught him occlumency when he was in his fifth year to keep him from being possessed. That doesn't seem like third-year stuff..."

"I think he's allowed to change the curriculum however he wants as long as he gets permission from McGonagall. He must think it's important," Ayla explained, but panic was creeping up on her. What if he chose her? He couldn't know everything that was in her head. She couldn't have him find out about her childhood. The only people that knew were her closest friends and she intended to keep it that way.

"The first time through, you will make no attempt at using Occlumency," Professor Asbuam told them. "You need to know what it feels like when Legilimency is used against you. Once you've experienced he feeling, you may attempt to use Occlumency is you can."

"I don't even know what Legilimency is..." Brad said warily, but Professor Asbaum ignored him. He was casting a spell that formed a sort of screen next to the pair. It was clearly not solid, as Professor Asbaum's wand was poking through it, but looked just like a projector screen.

"A visual aid to help you understand what I am doing," he explained, gesturing to the screen. Ayla's jaw dropped.

"He's letting every see what's in our minds," she said dully and Lily shot her a concerned look.

"Just make sure he doesn't call on you, Ayla, I'll go twice if I have to," Hugo whispered.

"_Legilimens_," Professor Asbaum said simply and images appeared on the screen.

Ayla looked away and Lily's eyes filled with tears as all of Brad's thoughts revolved around a variety of girls. Ayla laid her hand on Lily's arm, her face ashen and furious at the same time.

Most of the boys in the class were snickering, while some of the girls looked impressed and others disgusted. Professor Asbaum looked both amused and angry.

"We'll go around the room," Asbaum declared when Bradley was finished, and he gestured for the girl who had been sitting next to him to step forward.

"He is _not _allowed to do this," Ayla hissed to Lily, Liam, and Hugo. "He can't put our memories on display for everyone!"

Ayla hardly paid attention to her classmates' occlumency lessons; partly out of respect for their privacy and partly because she could not focus on anything through her panic.

"Miss Torres," Asbaum announced when it was her turn.

She stood shakily and walked to the front of the classroom. She had read extensively on Occlumency before she was at Hogwarts.

_Close your mind, Ayla. It's not that hard. Just don't think about it. Don't think about it. _

She looked him dead in the eyes as he performed the spell, and shoved every thought out of her mind that she could, determination pulsing through her veins, her head aching from fighting the spell away.

"Hmm..." Professor Asbaum said thoughtfully, pulling her back to reality. She saw that Lily, Hugo, and Liam were grinning and knew that she had succeeded. "I seem to recall telling you not to use Occlumency."

"Why not?" Ayla asked, somewhat rudely, hoping to distract him from his task of revealing her thoughts.

"Watch your tone," he snapped before explaining his reasoning. "You need to understand the feeling of Legilimency being used against you so that if it ever is used—"

"Then I'll know how to stop it," she interrupted. "Because as I just proved, I can use Occlumency."

"Are you teaching this class?" Professor Asbaum demanded.

"She might as well be!" Tristan bellowed from the back of the classroom. "At least _she's_ shown us something useful."

"I will say this once again," he said slowly. "I am going to perform Legilimency, and you will not use Occlumency. If you do, the punishment will make whatever you don't want me to see feel like a picnic."

Ayla surrendered; she stepped forward and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she heard him mutter the incantation.

Memories of her father flashed through her head.

_He was picking her up at Sunnydale after Natasha had called him about her. He ran onto the lawn, grabbed her by the neck and pulled back his fist in preparation. A boy ran past to go inside out of fear. _

_"You stay!" Her father roared. "All of you stay! Stay and watch!" _

After a horrible scene played through her head and across the screen, the memory switched. She watched her own life as though it was a horrible movie.

_Her father dragging her out to an alley behind an abandoned bar and leaving her there. Her father aiming to stab her in the neck and missing by inserting the knife into her shoulder. Her father, in each memory, destroying her childhood completely, scarring her physically and emotionally. _

The class watched in horror, and more students looked away and buried their heads in their hands with each memory that played.

"Stop!" Ayla roared after she watched a particularly sickening instance of abuse. She shoved past Professor Asbaum and sprinted from the classroom, breaking into sobs as soon as she reached the hallway. She sprinted down the steps, not having any idea where she was going. As she reached the first floor, she saw Albus hurtling up the staircase across from her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He demanded when he saw her crying. "Ayla, what happened?"

"They know, they know, everyone knows!" Ayla sobbed.

"They know what?" Albus asked frantically, pulling her down to sit beside him on the bottom step, his arms around her.

"Professor Asbaum so teaching us about Legilimency so he projected all of our thoughts onto this screen thing, and—and now the whole class knows about my father!"

"Wait, he showed your memories on a screen?" Albus repeated. "There's no way that's allowed!"

"I know," Ayla wailed. "But it doesn't make any difference now; they all know and now no one is ever going to see me the same."

"Hey, I see you the same," Albus told her, giving her shoulders a squeeze.

Ayla laughed once without humor, wiping her eyes. "Yeah, but you're...you."

Albus laughed as well. "Okay, I don't know what that means, but alright."

Ayla sniffled, her crying slowing down for a moment. "How did you know?" She asked.

Albus stood up and twisted around, pointing at the Marauder's map in his back pocket. Ayla laughed again, wiping her eyes once more.

"I was bored in class so I was looking at the map and I saw you run out of Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Tears streamed down Ayla's face again. Albus tightened his arm around her and asked a question that cost him an overwhelming amount of pain.

"Do you want me to go get James?"

Ayla shook her head. "I don't really talk to him about this stuff," she admitted.

"Why not?" Albus asked, surprised.

"I don't know," she murmured, looking down at her hands, which were twisting in her lap. "Maybe I'm too scared he'll run."

"I wouldn't let him run," Albus told her sincerely and she smiled sadly. "But don't you, like...need to talk to someone about it sometimes?" He asked, trying to wrap his head around it.

"I went nine years without telling anyone," Ayla said simply. "And, I mean, I can tell him some stuff, if I decide to, but just in general..." She shrugged. "I don't know if I want him to know truly how screwed up I am."

"You shouldn't be ashamed of it," Albus told her genuinely. "It wasn't your fault."

She shook her head and looked away. "People don't understand this stuff, Albus."

A first-year Gryffindor walked up to Ayla shyly. "Professor McGonagall wants to see you in her office," she informed her and bustled off quickly.

Ayla blew out all her breath and stood up. "How many detentions do you reckon I'll get for walking out on Asbaum's class?"

"If she's not an idiot, then none," Albus grumbled, earning a laugh from Ayla. "Good luck."

She set off up the stairs and up to the headmistress's office. McGonagall was waiting below her office to give the password to the strange elevator-like carrier to take them up to her office. Ayla waited awkwardly next to her in silence. McGonagall walked into her office silently, the only sound from her shoes clicking against the floor.

_Just hold it together, Ayla, _she told herself. _Act like it's no big deal, and she won't either. _

McGonagall sat down behind her desk, folding her hands and looking piercingly at Ayla. "Sit down, Miss Torres."

Ayla sat down, returning her gaze and refusing to let any emotions cloud her face or eyes.

"Miss Torres, many of your classmates have come and spoken to me about what happened today in Professor Asbaum's class."

Ayla's eyes flickered to meet hers and then she looked away again.

"Miss Torres, Professor Asbaum's actions, while rather unnecessary for your age group, was within the lines of legality as it pertains to curriculum planning. He requested permission to teach these concepts, and I granted it to him with no idea that he planned to broadcast the thoughts of each class member to the rest of their peers."

Ayla glanced at her. "Why are you telling me this?"

"W-well, I thought it would be clear, Miss Torres. I've been informed of what your mind revealed and I wanted to approach you about it."

"Here I am," Ayla said simply.

"Yes, here you are," McGonagall said, sounding slightly flustered. "Torres, had I known, I—"

"What?" Ayla asked, defeated. "What would you have done? It's too late, the damage is done, and he's already in prison."

"I meant, if I had known from when you were younger...I could have...seen to it that you were removed from the home, or..."

"It wasn't your job," Ayla said indifferently, but she was slightly concerned, hoping that McGonagall didn't truly feel guilty. "Now, what do you really want to know?" She asked as she noticed McGonagall was avoiding her gaze.

"Oh, yes, well..." She began, clearly impressed. "Miss Torres, I would like you to explain exactly what happened. See, at Hogwarts, we have somewhat of a file on each student in the school, and evidently, your record is missing quite a bit of information."

Ayla slid down slightly in the seat, sighing. She retold the story from the beginning, and in the very few times she had told this story, this was the first time that she showed no emotion whatsoever. McGonagall had tears in her eyes by the end and Ayla was forced to look away.

"Look, Professor, I'm fine," Ayla told her earnestly. "Really, I'm alright. It was a while ago, and I really just didn't want everyone to find out about this. I don't want you to feel sorry for me, or for anyone else to either. I just want to be treated, for once, like I'm normal. That's why I didn't really tell people."

"Did you tell anyone?" McGonagall asked, looking very upset. "I mean, is there _anyone _you can talk to about this?"

"Yes, I've told someone. And now everyone knows, so I'm pretty sure I can talk to anyone I pass in the hallway. Not that I will, but I could if I wanted." Ayla cleared her throat, sitting up, wanting suddenly to be freed of this conversation. "Are we done?" She asked in a polite voice.

"W—oh, yes, of course," McGonagall said absently, and Ayla stepped out of the door. As she closed it behind her, she heard McGonagall blow her nose into her white handkerchief.

She sighed and made her way back to the common room, where James was sitting on the couch with his roommates, talking loudly. He caught Ayla's eye and grinned, beckoning her over. Slightly out of what was going on, she walked over and sat next to James, plastering a smile on her face as he introduced her to each of his roommates. But she could not take her mind off of her worries about what had happened that day.

_No one is ever going to treat you the same, _she told herself. _As soon as the news spreads to them, they'll be treating you like the broken girl again. Just when things were getting better..._

X.

The next few weeks were somewhat of a daze; every day felt the same. Every day, Ayla walked down the hallway past stares of pity and judgment. When James saw someone staring at her, he was quick to scare them off; that was something Ayla was grateful for.

"You okay?" He asked one day toward the end of April, when they stopped in the hallway outside of her History of Magic classroom. Ayla was tucking the time turner back in her shirt from a few minutes before when she had used it. James sounded slightly wary, as he always did when he asked about her feelings; he cared enough to know but didn't want to see any tears that might be looming.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured him, smiling bracingly. "I just wish they'd get over it," she said, glancing at a pair of twin girls who were staring at her as they passed.

James whirled to face the girls. "What do you think you're looking at?" He demanded threateningly and they rushed away.

Ayla stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. "Thank you."

He smiled down at her. "You should get to class," he said, leaning against the wall. "Professor Binns will be pissed if you're late," he joked, the corners of his mouth twitching.

Ayla grinned, kissed him again, and entered the classroom.

April turned into May and the rain vanished into sun, and Ayla began to study vigorously for exams once again.

At the beginning of May, she sat in the common room with James, leaning back against him, his arms around her waist as she perched her Arithmancy textbook on her knees. James absently flicked the pages and she elbowed him playfully.

"Stop, I need to study!" She laughed and he tightened his arms around her and stood abruptly, spinning her around. She squealed. "Put me down, James!" She laughed loudly and he finally dropped her onto the couch, then flattened himself over her and kissed her.

"Uh, this is a public room, you guys," Hugo said from the armchair across from them. Ayla raised her eyebrows at James, trying not to laugh, until he stood up and sat back down beside her, then went right back to flipping the pages while she was reading.

Hugo left to go to bed after a few minutes, and James continued trying to distract Ayla from studying.

"Hey, where's José?" James asked a moment later, looking around. "He said earlier that he was going to meet us in the common room so we could help with his potions work."

Ayla frowned, looking at her watch. "Yeah, he should be out of detention by now..." She mused. José was still in detention because he had been caught stealing several more times, which was adding to the list of Ayla's concerns.

"What's with him recently?" James asked brusquely. "He's been getting in a ton of trouble. And not even in a funny way, it's not pranks or anything, it's actual crime."

"I don't know," Ayla said dejectedly. "I think now that he's just turned thirteen, he feels like he has more freedom or something."

Right on cue, José walked into the common room, extremely pale, with a sheen of sweat on his face. Ayla stood immediately.

"José, what happened?" She demanded, looking him over.

"Can we talk outside?" He asked and Ayla nodded, following him out of the portrait hole again.

"Need me to get you out of detention?" She joked, knowing that his reaction would determine how serious the situation was. He shook his head soberly and Ayla's stomach jolted.

"I have to meet with the entire staff tomorrow," he said quietly. "And the board of governors."

"Why?" Ayla demanded nervously, knowing the answer could not be good. "You didn't steal from your roommates again, did you?"

"N-no, I stole from..." He took a deep breath. "I broke into the Hog's Head to try and get some drinks."

Ayla felt her heart skip a beat and a sickening churn in her stomach; she felt unable to speak.

"They're going to expel me this time, aren't they?" José asked in a barely audible voice.

Ayla nodded sadly. "I think so, bud."

He sighed and threw himself down on the bottom step, looking around the castle. "It's been nice, this place," he said, forcing his voice to sound casual.

"Hey, you never know—" Ayla began, but he looked up at her and shook his head.

"Don't do it, please," he begged. "Don't get my hopes up again."

Those last six words were like a knife plunged right into Ayla's chest and she struggled to keep her footing.

"I have to go to McGonagall's again," he mumbled, standing up and shuffling away.

Ayla shakily entered the common room. James scrambled to his feet.

"Hey, what happened?" He asked eagerly.

"He, uh, he stole from The Hog's Head. You know, the pub. Or, he tried to, I guess."

"What?" James demanded, his jaw dropping. After a moment of shock, he looked quite angry. "Ayla, you can't associate yourself with people like that!" He exclaimed.

"People like what?" She asked challengingly, raising her eyebrows.

"He—he's a criminal, Ayla! You've got to cut him loose; he's going to get you into trouble one of these days!"

"James, José is like my brother. He's made a big mistake—several big mistakes—but we grew up together, I can't just—"

"Don't you get it, Ayla? What if the next time he steals, it's from you? Or worse, what if the next time he steals, he somehow drags you down with him when he gets caught?" James bellowed.

"You don't get it, James, but José has had a tough life! He's not a bad kid, he's just damaged. Everyone he's ever loved has found some way to hurt him! I am the _only _one who has never given up on him; I can't leave him too!" Ayla shouted back furiously.

"Why do you close your mind to what's happening?" He demanded, his voice shooting even higher in volume. "Don't you realize that nothing good can come out of this? Why don't you just let him go off on his own; he clearly thinks he doesn't need anyone else!"

"Because it's my fault, okay?" Ayla shouted furiously, but her voice broke. "If I had just...made sure he went home with a different couple, or maybe taken him in with me instead, then none of this ever would've happened! He wouldn't be rebelling because he'd be in a good home! I got his hopes up by putting him with an adoptive couple and then they kicked him out just like everyone else in his life!" She was crying now as she yelled, and James looked taken aback.

James's anger at the situation transformed into a different kind of anger. An anger that was more out of pity than anything else. Anger at Ayla.

"Why do you do this?" He demanded, but more wearily this time. "Why do you blame yourself for everything that happens? Look, Ayla, you're smart, and funny, and gorgeous, and you're amazing to spend time with, but...you think everything is your fault, and it's not. You shouldn't have such a guilty conscience, it's...I'm sorry to say it, but it's scaring me a little bit. He's not your responsibility; nothing that happens to him is your fault."

"I got his hopes up. And of all people, I know that should never happen." She looked up at him intently. "I have to speak at the hearing tomorrow."

He took her hand and pulled her down onto the couch with him. "Ayla, if what you're worried about is getting his hopes up...you can't do that. José looks up to you like a hero; if he sees you walk into the hearing tomorrow, he'll just think that everything is going to be fine. And there's nothing you can do to get him out of this."

"James, he needs this place. He needs Hogwarts. Being here...this is the first time he's ever let his guard down. And he's strong, but not strong enough to leave just yet. It's the only place he's ever been able to call home, and he can't say goodbye to that."

"Are we still talking about José?" James asked, nudging her. Ayla laughed in spite of herself and then looked down.

"Maybe that's what José and I have in common. Hogwarts is home for us; we don't have families to turn to. This is it for us; we don't have room to screw it up because we've got nowhere else to go." She looked back at James, straining to keep the tears from her eyes. "You don't get it, James, but he's lost too much already. I can't take away his home, too."

James sighed sadly and hugged her.

X.

Ayla flipped rapidly through the clothes in her closet, trying to decide what to wear to the hearing.

Lily yanked aside the curtains around her bed and looked at Ayla, rubbing her eyes. "What are you doing?" She asked thickly.

"Trying to decide what to wear to the hearing. See, if I dress up too much, I look like I'm trying too hard. But if I don't dress up enough, then I look like a slob and they don't take me seriously."

Lily rolled her eyes and chuckled, crawling out of bed and stretching, walking over to Ayla and taking the black skirt out of her hands. She tossed it on the bed and pulled a white chiffon sort off its hanger and passed it to Ayla, then draped a belt over Ayla's arm.

"There you go," she said groggily, lying back down in bed.

Ayla grinned nervously. "Thanks, Lil." She dressed quickly and did her hair and makeup, then set off through the common room and down to the detention chamber, where his hearing was taking place. The room looked somewhat like a circular auditorium, with seats around two-thirds of the circumference. There were seven long, curved rows of seats across that section, and a desk was placed at the front, where McGonagall sat. José was sitting off to the side of the room, and his eyes lit up when he saw Ayla walk in. Even McGonagall cast her somewhat of an approving look.

Ayla shot José a good-luck look as he made his way up to the podium in the center of the floor. His knuckled paled as he gripped the edges of the stand nervously.

As the hearing went on, Ayla realized that there was nothing she could say to help José's case, or to defend him in any way. All she could do was try to convince them that he needed to stay at Hogwarts. So when her name was called by McGonagall, she did exactly that.

"Since José arrived at Hogwarts, I've seen the way that he feels at home. I've seen how he's so much happier here than he could be anywhere else. If he was expelled from Hogwarts, his behavior would not improve. If anything, it would be worse because he wouldn't have anything to hold on to. I've known José for years and I might not know everything about him; I might not know why he does these things. But I do know that he'll learn from this mistake because this is the one place that he's truly belonged and you can't take that away from him. He needs to stay here; he needs this school and he needs his friends." She took a deep breath. "He's a troubled kid, just like me, and we've all made mistakes. José has been through more than most people can imagine, and he's damaged, and so am I. But he's not a bad person, and he deserves to be there. If you're expelling the kids who are troubled but are trying to get back on the right path, then I guess you'll have to expel me too. José and I grew up together; he's a brother to me, and I'd never leave him. So if he goes, I go." She nodded once in conclusion. "Thank you." She stepped away from the podium and sat next to José.

"Mr. Ballar, Miss Torres, please step outside while we come to our conclusion," McGonagall said formally.

Ayla exited the chamber with José, closing the door behind her. She was surprised to see that he had tears in his eyes.

"That," he began, managing a grin, "was the biggest risk anyone ever took for me." His grin faded into worry as he spoke.

Ayla tried to shrug casually. "I'm sticking by you, José, and if they expel you, I'm not coming back. We're like family, and like I said, this is our home. It's never truly home without your family."

The door opened on its own and Ayla saw McGonagall tucking her wand back into her robes as they entered.

"Mr. Ballar, please step up to the podium."

José obliged, and Ayla clasped her hands together, hoping with all her heart that he would not be expelled. She glanced toward the still-open door and saw that James was leaning against the doorframe, his hands in his pockets, grinning but looking anxious at the same time.

McGonagall cleared her throat and spoke. "Mr. Ballar, the faculty as well as the governors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry have come to the conclusion that you would benefit most from staying at Hogwarts under the discipline of our teachers. However, while we have the authority to decide whether or not you attend the school, we do not have the authority to dictate your legal punishment. Because you were both breaking and entering, committing theft, and because it was alcohol that you were stealing, you will be required to spend the summer in juvenile detention, but you can return to Hogwarts on September 1st like the rest of your classmates, and remain here until the end of the year."

Ayla beamed as she saw José's eyes water in relief.

"Faculty and governors, you are dismissed. Oh, and you as well, Miss Torres. Mr. Ballar, you may stay while we discuss the details of your legal sentence," McGonagall declared and Ayla dashed to the doorway and threw her arms around James.

When she pulled back, James gazed down at her. "You can say 'I told you so' if you want," he told her, grinning and she shook her head.

"I think I'll say thank you instead," she replied, smiling. "For talking to me yesterday. It wasn't easy to hear, but I needed it."

James smiled and kissed her. "You know, that was really cool what you did. I was standing at the door during your statement but I walked away for a minute while you guys had to wait outside because I didn't want to interrupt. But it was awesome that you took that risk for him. He's really lucky to have you."

Ayla beamed at him, sniffling slightly. "Thanks, James."

He put his arm around her and they walked back up to the Gryffindor common room.

X.

The rest of the month was spent studying frantically, until the first week of June when the students took their exams.

Ayla sat in her very last exam of the year, History of Magic. She set down her quill for a moment and stretched her aching hand. Liam glanced over and his eyes popped as he saw the length of her essay. She bit her lip nervously, shrugging helplessly and returning to her test. The bell rang at the end of the session and Ayla took a deep breath, handing in her test to the proctor.

As they left the classroom, Hugo turned to Ayla. "What did you do, write an entire textbook on Witch Hunts?"

Ayla laughed. "I didn't want to miss anything!" She said defensively, grinning. She saw James leaning against the wall opposite their classroom. He shrugged away from the stone, beaming.

"We're finally done!" He exclaimed, picking her up and spinning her around. "I'm thinking party time!"

"When are you _not _thinking party-time?" Ayla laughed, putting her arm around his waist as they walked.

"I'm so happy you're staying with us this summer," James said excitedly.

"It's so nice of you guys to let me stay," Ayla said graciously.

James grinned. "Mum and Dad love you, believe me, they miss you if you don't stay with us."

They arrived back at the common room, where James had already placed a keg in preparation. He sat down on the top of the keg, handing Ayla a cup as people lined up to get drinks.

"How were your exams?" Ayla asked James, perched on his right knee.

"They were alright," he said decently. "But let's not talk about school; I've forgotten everything already."

Ayla laughed, gazing into his brown eyes. She closed her eyes and kissed him slowly, her lips molding with his.

There was a loud throat-clearing from Hugo and they both pulled back. "Coming through, public common room..." He announced with a grin.

Ayla stood up from James's lap and they walked over to the couch, where James laid his arm around her shoulders.

"You want to go for a walk?" James suggested after about an hour of chatting.

"Yeah, sure," Ayla agreed, taking his hand and walking out of the common room with him.

They walked through the portrait hole and stepped out into the hallway. James kissed Ayla immediately, his hand running through her long dark hair.

Ayla heard footsteps after several enjoyable minutes, and she turned to see McGonagall walking up the corridor. She cursed and whirled around the Fat Lady, rattling off the password until the portrait swung open.

Ayla and James leapt through the portrait hole and back into the loud, crowded common room.

"McGonagall's coming!" James bellowed and everyone stopped dancing, threw their drinks out the window, and tried to look as though they had been sitting on the couch the entire time. James dove over to the keg and shoved it behind an armchair in a corner of the common room.

The portrait hole opened and McGonagall strode through, looking around at the students sitting calmly on the couches and armchairs.

"What is all this raucous?" She demanded harshly.

"Raucous, professor?" James repeated innocently.

"Yes, Potter, raucous!" She snapped, looking around for any sign of a party.

"Well, nothing going on here, as you can see," James said simply and her eyes narrowed.

"If I get another report of excessive noise..." She began threateningly, then left abruptly.

James snorted as the portrait swung shut.

"Well, party back on?" He suggested, standing up and pulling the keg back out from behind the armchair and sitting back down with Ayla after refilling his cup.

A boy walked into the common room, looking slightly shaken. "The test results are already done," he announced.

"Already?" Ayla demanded in shock, scrambling up. She darted for the door and sprinted down to the Great Hall to be the first in line in front of Professor Longbottom. James caught up to her as she burst through the doors.

Professor Longbottom handed Ayla her file, then handed James's to him.

"Wow, that's a lot of electives," James laughed. "I mean, I knew you were taking all of those, but I've never seen them all listed like that...yikes."

Ayla beamed at her marks, then looked over at James. "How did you do?" She asked and James flipped his folder shut.

"Not that great," he groaned, sitting down and running his hand over his face. He handed the folder to Ayla. He had gotten mostly in the 70-80 percent range, but his History of Magic score was extremely low.

"Hey, it's alright, James, it was a N.E.W.T. level class, and this was just a regular final, it's not like it was actually the N.E.W.T. exam. You don't have to take it next year if you don't want to," she said consolingly.

"I couldn't take it next year even if I wanted to; that grade is way too low," he said quietly.

"You want to be an Auror, don't you?" Ayla asked and James nodded. "Well, you don't need History of Magic to become an Auror! Look, you did well in Potions and Transfiguration and Charms, and you did amazingly in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

James grinned and followed her out of the Great Hall.

"I've never seen you get serious like that," Ayla noticed as they walked back up to the common room. James laughed.

"Don't get used to it."

"I should pack," Ayla said glumly as they stepped through the portrait hole. "I can't believe we have to leave tomorrow."

"I know," James agreed sadly. "Oh, but I have my apparition test tonight, if you want to come."

"Yeah, sure!" Ayla exclaimed. "Is it in Hogsmeade?" She asked as James entered her dormitory with her.

"Yeah, it's in an hour." James sat on her bed and Ayla rested her suitcase in front of him, then waved her wand, and all of her belongings flowed neatly into her suitcase. James reached out and caught her time turner, swinging the chain around his hand. "Cool," he commented. "We should go back in time and-" He cut himself off as Ayla snatched the time turner from his hand.

"Not a toy," she said playfully, grinning and draping it around her neck and tucking it below her shirt. He grinned and stretched out on her bed, leaning against the pillows and fiddling with the curtains.

A girl with dark hair tied up in a tight bun walked in suddenly and gasped, pointing at James. "YOU'RE a boy."

"That explains a _lot_," James said in mock surprise and Ayla snorted.

"It's alright, Jocelyn, he's in here with me," Ayla told her roommate with a smile.

"He's not SUPPOSED to be in here," Jocelyn continued bossily.

"He's allowed," Ayla said calmly. "If he wasn't, they would still have security that keeps boys out of the girls' dormitories."

The girl huffed and stalked out of the dormitory.

Ayla chucked and turned back to her trunk.

"Well, she seems like a bucketload of fun," James said sarcastically, smirking.

"That's Jocelyn. She means well, but she's a little too strict sometimes." She grinned at James. "My goal is to someday get her to let loose."

"Seriously, she must be a pain to live with," James realized, looking horrified.

"Well, sometimes she yells at us for wearing shirts that are too low-cut. She only wears turtlenecks, see, even in the summer." She held up a picture in a frame that featured Ayla, Lily, Jocelyn, and two girls James did not recognize. Four of them were laughing, wearing pajama shorts and tank tops, while Jocelyn was standing on the far left, arms folded, wearing a turtleneck over long pajama pants, a disapproving look plastered on her face. "That was taken the first night here this year."

James laughed and placed the picture back in Ayla's trunk and she fastened it shut.

Once Ayla had finished packing, the two of them headed to James's apparition test in Hogsmeade.

"Okay," the instructor said once James had gotten in line with everyone else, holding Ayla's hand anxiously. "There is an evaluator at the destination in which you will be Apparating to make sure that you did everything correctly. He will hand you a slip saying whether you Apparated correctly, and if you return to me perfectly as well, then you have passed. This is a pass/fail test. Failures can be the result of splinching, miscalculating your target, etcetera." He clearest his throat and called the first name on the list, "Abercrombie, Larry."

James shifted anxiously and Ayla turned to face him. "Hey, James, you'll do fine," she assured him. "I'm sure you'll get it right; don't worry."

He smiled. "You're right; I'm awesome," he joked, grinning, and Ayla laughed.

When the instructor reached "Potter, James," Ayla let go of his hand, gave him a swift kiss on the cheek, and stepped away.

James contorted his face in concentration and disappeared. Ayla waited eagerly until he reappeared and handed the slip in his hand to the instructor, who nodded at him, wrote something on the parchment, and shook his hand in congratulations.

Ayla ran over, beaming. "You did it!" She exclaimed when he held up the slip that read _PASS_.

He grinned and kissed her. "I'm free!" He declared, smiling broadly. "This summer, I can do magic whenever I want, _and _I can Apparate!"

Ayla laughed, looking up at him. "You can take me with you when you Apparate, right?" She asked hopefully, smiling.

"Of course," he chuckled, then picked her up suddenly, spinning around and earning a fit of giggles from her as he shifted her onto his back and trudged back up to the castle. "You want to come with me to pack?" He offered when they reached the common room, straightening to let her hop off his back. "Hopefully none of my roommates yell at you for being there."

Ayla giggled and followed him into his dormitory, greeting his roommates as she sat down at the foot of his bed, leaning back against his trunk that was placed on the mattress.

James began tossing unfolded t-shirts into the trunk and Ayla raised her eyebrows.

"Aren't you the one who was just talking about how excited you are to be able to do spells whenever you want? And we're still at Hogwarts, anyway!"

"Oh, right," James realized, waving his wand and sending his belongings into the trunk. It sealed itself and stood itself up next to the bed.

"I guess I should go to bed," Ayla said reluctantly. "Last night at Hogwarts."

"But then you get to come to the Potter house, which is just _way _better," James joked, grinning, and Ayla laughed.

"Night, James."

"G'night," he responded, kissing her until one of his roommates threw a pillow at him. James gazed after her as she left the dormitory, hair shimmering in the moonlight.

X.

As the group hopped off the Hogwarts express at King's Cross Station, they were welcomed by the warm summer sun shining down and making the red train look even brighter.

Harry and Ginny were waiting on the Platform, and they hurried forward when they saw their children. Ayla watched, smiling, as Harry and Ginny hugged each of their children.

"Well, we've heard the news," Ginny declared, gesturing between Ayla and James. James put his arm around Ayla, grinning, and Albus busied himself with the fastening on his trunk. Ginny greeted Ayla with a warm hug.

"Thank you for letting me stay with you again," Ayla said graciously.

"Oh, of course," Ginny assured her. "I've heard about your friend who was with you last summer. It's a shame; he seemed like such a nice boy."

Ayla smiled sadly. "He is. He's just gotten mixed up with some bad decisions."

Ginny smiled understandingly and turned to Lily. Ayla glanced at James and saw that he was admiring a girl across the Platform, smirking slightly. The girl, who was engaged in conversation with her friend, let glancing up and shooting flirtatious smiles at James.

A twinge of jealously crept up on Ayla and she brushed it away. _It's probably one of his friends, _she told herself. _They probably just have classes together, no big deal. _

The Potters and Ayla departed by Portkey and arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place. Ayla beamed as they entered. She walked with Lily up the steps to drop their bags off in Lily's room. Ayla sat down on the bed next to Lily's that had been conjured up for her stay.

Lily sat down on her own bed and the two girls sat in silence for a moment before Lily spoke.

"Some year, huh?"

Ayla laughed once. "Yeah, it was pretty crazy." She smiled at her best friend. "Normal is overrated, anyway."

X.

By the beginning of August, they had received so much rain that practicing Quidditch was made difficult through the downpour. Ayla walked down to the kitchen one morning in the first week of August, and saw a stack of letters on the windowsill that must have arrived overnight by owl. The envelopes were drenched, smearing the ink to incoherency. James walked in sleepily as she flipped through the envelopes.

"Mail?" He asked groggily, walking over and looking over her shoulder. He squinted at the names printed on the envelopes. "I think this one is for you," he said, handing her one of the envelopes.

Ayla opened the envelope and looked at the letter. James watched her, confused for a moment as to why Ayla looked angry, and then it dawned on him in a rush of panic.

"Oh, I think that must've been for me," he said hurriedly, trying to grab it from her hands but it was too late; she had already read it through.

"Why," she began quietly, "are you getting letters like that?"

"See, it's a long story-" he started lamely, holding the very flirtatious letter from a female classmate. Ayla turned to walk out of the house and he caught her arm. "Ayla, wait! I'm not sending them back, I just-"

She rounded on him, a skeptical expression on her face.

"Okay, I'll admit, before we left school, I flirted with her a bit but nothing ever happened, and-"

"Save it," she snapped. "This was a mistake."

Ayla broke free of his grip and darted out the door and into the pouring rain, her hair and clothes getting drenched. She ran until her feet were exhausted, at which point she threw herself down on the sidewalk and wrapped her arms around her knees, letting out a sob. She sat there for hours, until James popped into sight in front of her.

"Ayla! I've looked everywhere for you!" He cried and she stood up but refused to look at him. "Ayla, I'm sorry, I really am," he called over the loud downpour. "Look, I've never been the type of guy to have a serious girlfriend; I never pictured myself having a steady relationship with anyone. They just seem so gushy and stupid and confusing."

Ayla gave him a disgusted look, feeling a mix of fury and confusion as to why he was telling her any of this.

"But I want to be gushy, Ayla. I want to be gushy and stupid and confused, as long as it's with you."

"I don't know if—" she began but he cut across her.

"I don't know either. I don't know anything except that I want to be with you no matter what."

Ayla laughed once without humor, a laugh that brought tears to her eyes, as she looked at the ridiculousness of the situation. "You're...completely insane, you know that?"

He laughed and through all of the rain water splashed against his face, Ayla cold swear she saw a tear. "I know," he laughed.

"I mean, you just Apparated all through a _muggle_ town looking for me!" She continued incredulously. "I mean, you could've been seen, and—"

"I did, I know!" He cried, laughing. "And I, uh, I might've stopped along the way to try to scare some people, you know, just for the fun of it."

Ayla shook her head, crying and laughing at the same time. "You're an idiot," she said and James grinned.

"Yeah, well, we already knew that." And he took her in his arms, his hand in her soaking wet hair, and kissed her.


	37. Chapter 37

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Albus asked Ayla. He was standing in the doorway in front of her, looking very anxious.

"Positive," Ayla said with a smile. "James is just getting his bags and then we'll be heading off."

"But Ayla, your mom is _never _home; there won't be anyway living at your house. What if...you know, what if something..._happens _between you two?"

Ayla shrugged happily, smiling at Albus. "What if it does?" She said simply and he sighed, dropping his arm from its place against the doorway and stepping aside.

"Have fun, you two," he said as James appeared and approached Ayla.

"Thanks, little bro," James said, mussing Albus's hair. "We'll be staying at her house for a week, and then we'll see you at the Diagon Alley."

Albus nodded, smiling strongly. He helped Ayla with her bags and waved to both of them as James took Ayla's hand and Apparated away.

They arrived at the foot of Ayla's long, winding driveway and lugged their bags up the path until they reached her house. James let out a low whistle as he gaped up at it.

"Isn't it just you and your mom that live here?" He asked, shocked.

"My mom's husband moved in when they got married," Ayla explained.

"Still, three people..." He murmured, shaking his head.

He followed her in, past the doorman who greeted them with a polite nod and took their bags.

"Welcome," Ayla said with a theatrical wave of her arms. James laughed, looking around.

"This place is awesome," he murmured, picking up a very fancy-looking decoration and tossing it from hand to hand. "What is this?" He asked and Ayla shrugged.

"You want something to eat?" She offered and James flopped down in a chair when she led him into the kitchen.

"Yeah, sure, if you have chips or something."

"Francis?" She called, poking her head through a door. James watched as a very large man in an apron burst through the door.

"Ayla, nice to see you here!" He exclaimed in surprise and she smiled.

"This is James," she said, gesturing toward James, who waved from his chair. "He wanted something to eat so I was wondering what you could make him."

"Oh, anything, sir," the man said quickly. "I can make anything you would like."

"Oh, um, just some chips is fine," James said awkwardly, shifting uncomfortably.

"Handmade potato chips coming up!" He enthused, bustling back into the kitchen.

"Handmade?" James repeated and Ayla bit her lip.

"Yeah, we don't really keep normal food here," she admitted. "My mom doesn't get that when I want a snack, I just want a _snack__. _Like chips or popcorn or something, not a five star meal," she laughed.

"So, you have people working here?" James asked, looking around more.

"Yeah, we have another building out back that everyone stays in. I'll show you while Francis is cooking." She took his hand and they exited through one of the doors on the back of the house and walked down a long, winding path until they reached a rather large house. Ayla pushed open the door and led him inside and up the steps. "This is where my driver, Hayden stays," she began, gesturing toward a door on their left. "Then this is where my butler, Guillermo, stays. My maid, Carmen, stays here. Francis stays here...the doorman, Isaac, stays here. And that's it!" She said brightly, smiling.

"So...this house just holds the people that work here and even this is bigger than the average house," James said in amazement as they headed back to Ayla's house. "_Awesome_."

Ayla shrugged, looking down. "It's not that home-like, don't you think?"

"Well, I guess it's not exactly customary to me..." James admitted. "You know, like, no snack food and stuff. It's a little too fancy to feel like home." Ayla nodded in agreement.

"That's not the only thing that kept it from feeling like home," Ayla mumbled and James looked down awkwardly, shoving his hands deep in his pockets as they entered Ayla's house.

"I have your chips, sir!" Francis said, handing them to him.

"Thank you," James said, taking the plate and tasting one. "Wow, they're really good," he muttered to Ayla. As Francis left, James turned to Ayla. "So, how does that work? Like, the people that work here."

Ayla sat down next to him and shrugged. "They're professionals," she explained. "Like, Francis is a professional chef, but instead of working for a restaurant, he works here. Hayden is a professional driver, but instead of working in a limousine service or something, he works for us."

James nodded, shoving several chips in his mouth. "That's pretty cool," he said through a mouthful of food. "So, when your mom isn't here, do they stay with you or anything?"

"If I asked them to, they might, but it's never happened. They're the closest to family that I've got, though."

At that moment, James saw an unfamiliar man walk in and Ayla squealed, jumping up and hugging him.

"James, this is my butler, David," she told him, beaming.

"It's been so long!" David exclaimed, smiling.

"Last summer, David was away for a while," Ayla explained to James. "And the time before that, when I came to visit, I didn't get a chance to see him. So we haven't talked since I left for Hogwarts in first year." She turned back to David, her smile stretching from ear to ear. "How have you been?"

"Excellent! I don't know if you heard..." He said as he pulled a picture out of his wallet. James sat straighter on his chair to look curiously at the unmoving image. "We have a new addition to my family. A little baby girl."

"That's fantastic!" Ayla cried, looking at the photograph. "She's adorable!"

"I knew you were coming today so my wife and daughter are stopping by in about twenty minutes so you can meet little Jenny."

Ayla beamed. "Oh, I can't wait!" She exclaimed.

He smiled at her but there was a strange tightness to the smile that Ayla had never seen before.

"Well, I'll let you two alone," he said, stepping toward the door. "I'll see you a little bit later."

Ayla turned back to James as David left, beaming at him.

"You guys seem really close," James commented, eating more chips.

"Yeah, he's honorary family," she said with a grin.

An owl flew up to the window at that moment and Ayla leapt up to take the letter from it, then gave it a Knut. The owl fluttered around the window pane as Ayla walked back to James.

"It's addressed to you," she said, handing it to James. "From Hogwarts."

James frowned and tore it open, then his face lit up.

"What is it?" Ayla asked as she saw his expression change. He handed her the letter and she skimmed through it. "Head Boy!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. "James, that's amazing!"

James grinned, stunned. "I'm Head Boy..." He murmured. "Thank _God_, I can finally dock points from Scorpius!"

Ayla laughed once. "_That's_ your takeaway?" She asked, chuckling. "James, this is amazing." She hugged him again and kissed him.

"I've got to write to mum and dad!" He realized, grabbing a piece of parchment and a quill, scribbling his message. He handed it to the owl that was still waiting and it soared away with the letter.

X.

The next morning, Ayla woke up early and sat in the living room, curled up on the couch and deep in thought.

James walked in after several hours, having just woken up. "Oh, hey," he said through a yawn, rubbing his eyes roughly as he sat next to her. "What's up?"

"It's José's birthday," Ayla said quietly and James nodded slowly, taking a sip of the water that she had been drinking and passing it back to her.

"Wait, I thought his birthday was during the school year," James said, frowning.

Ayla smiled sadly. "His real birthday, yeah. Today is..." She sighed, shifting on the couch. "Since José never knew his real parents, he didn't know his birthday until he was eight years old. He used some guesswork to try to figure it out, but he was way off. Anyway, today was the day that we always thought of as his birthday when we were little."

"Did you want to see him or something?" He asked, sitting back and putting his feet up. Ayla nodded and James sighed. "Are you sure that's a good idea? You want to go into Juvie just to, what, sing him happy birthday?"

"It's bad enough that he has to be in there for two and a half months; he deserves some visitors."

"He deserves nothing; he's the one who did something stupid and got himself caught," James grumbled, standing up and walking into the kitchen.

Ayla followed him, her temperature rising slightly. "I know he made a mistake, but that doesn't mean that he should be rotting alone in there."

"That's kind of the point of the punishment, I think," James said, grabbing a plate from a cabinet and searching for something to eat.

"I went out this morning and got cereal," Ayla said quietly, straying momentarily from their argument. James nodded, switched his plate for a bowl, and filled it with cereal. "And I'm pretty sure he's already felt the punishment; he's been in there for over two months!"

"His fault," James said simply, shrugging.

"James, you get in trouble all the time; this seems like something that you will absolutely praise him for. What do you have against José?" She demanded.

"Okay, first of all, I get in trouble for pulling funny pranks at school. Not for actually breaking the law," he snapped. "And second of all, I don't have anything against him; I just don't think he's someone that you should spend time with."

"We grew up together, James, we talked about this!" Ayla returned hotly.

"I know you did, but that doesn't mean you're stuck with him for the rest of your life!" James retorted.

"Alright, tell me this: just for the purposes of this conversation, say Albus did something to get in huge trouble. Would you decide he's not someone you should associate yourself with?"

"Albus is my brother!" James bellowed.

"José is a brother to me, too!" Ayla shouted back.

"Yeah, but Al and I are flesh and blood; it's different!"

"My point is, José is the person I've been close with for the longest, and I'm not just going to ditch him!" She yelled heatedly.

"And _my _point is that he's a bad influence and I don't want you to hang out with him!"

"_You can't decide that for me_!" Ayla shrieked.

"Why is it that big of a deal that you visit him on his 'birthday' anyway?" James shouted, bringing it back to the root of the argument. "Because turning thirteen—again—is such a huge deal?"

"Because, like me, no one ever remembered José's birthday before he got to Hogwarts! He's been alone in there for over two months and I can't just forget his birthday! This was a big deal to us when we were younger!"

In a bout of fury, James threw his spoon across the room where it hit the wall and left a deep dent before clattering to the floor. "That's in the past, Ayla, just leave it behind!" He bellowed. "Leave all that stuff, and leave José and just move on with your life! Especially José, you just need to cut him loose!"

"_I don't want to cut him loose_!"

"I've told you; he's going to get you in trouble! He's bad news, Ayla!"

"He's not _news, _James, he's always been around!" She lowered her voice, looking down and shaking her head. "I never thought you were the type of person to write someone off before you even know them," she said dully, snatching up her bag and throwing open the door. "I'm going see José." She slammed the door behind her and left James seething in the kitchen.

X.

Ayla entered the house hours later, eyes dried out and exhausted. She saw James in the kitchen, trying to cast a spell to fix the dent on the wall, which now looked like a demolition site. She smiled sadly and pushed him aside gently, pointing her wand at the wall. "_Reparo_."

"Oh, right," James mumbled quietly. "That's the one. You know I can never do magic when I'm upset…" He looked up at Ayla, his face ashen. "Ayla, I'm sorry, I-"

"You were right," Ayla interrupted, her voice thick with suppressed tears. "They, uh, they wouldn't let me in to see him."

"Why not?" James asked, confused.

"Because he, um, he didn't want to see me," Ayla replied in a barely audible voice.

"You saved his ass; why the hell did he not want to see you?"

"He's angry at everyone right now," Ayla said sadly. "He needs time to cool off." She shook her head, eyes welling up with tears. "I don't know how he's been hanging in there these past two months."

"Ayla," James murmured as he saw her swimming eyes, pulling her into an embrace. "He'll get over it, this is all going to blow over."

Ayla leaned against his chest, trying to hide her tears as his hand stroked her hair comfortingly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and he laughed once without humor.

"You know tears aren't really my thing," he admitted, pulling back and holding her at army's length. "But it's worth it," he added sincerely and kissed her.

X.

Ayla fastened her trunk shut after checking to make sure she had everything, then picked it up and headed out of her room toward the stairs. She passed James in the hallway, who was shuffling out of his room in his boxers. He grabbed her suitcase for her and dropped it off in front of the door downstairs, then went to get breakfast.

Ayla perched on the counter in front of him as he ate his cereal.

"I can't believe summer is over already," he said sentimentally.

"Yeah," Ayla said sadly. "It was a really good one, though." She gazed down at him sitting on the stool in front of the counter, his bare chest illuminated by the sun streaming through the window, and she found it difficult to look away.

"Check it out," he said with a stupid grin, having noticed her gaze. "Chest hair," he declared, pointing at the center of his chest. Ayla laughed and James turned back to his bowl, chuckling.

"Very manly," she joked, grinning. "All three hairs."

James pushed her playfully, then pulled her onto his lap, laughing.

"There's four, Ayla. Come on, get your facts straight," James joked and Ayla grinned at him, hopping lightly off his lap.

"Oh, my bad," she laughed, leaning against the counter. "So, we'll head to Diagon Alley as soon as you're done with breakfast and you get dressed."

"Or I could go in this," he suggested jocularly. "You know, going natural."

"Yeah, that's a great idea," Ayla said sarcastically. "Hurry though, please, I'm really excited to see everyone."

His smile faded ever so slightly. "Like Al?" He muttered, dropping his bowl in the sink and heading toward the steps.

"Sorry?" Ayla demanded, whirling toward him.

"I said, 'like Al'?"

"Yeah, I heard you," Ayla snapped. "What the hell would make you say that?"

"Well, you dated _him_ first, and—" James began angrily.

"Whoa, since when is _that _bothering you?"

"Since you were suddenly so excited to get out of the house we were staying in together just so you can see him."

"James, of course I miss Albus and all of my other friends, but that doesn't mean that I don't like staying here with you! It just means—"

"It just means that he was you first love and that'll never change," James snapped, folding his arms.

"You knew that I had been with Albus when you asked me to be your girlfriend," Ayla said firmly. "If it was something that bothered you, you should have said something months ago."

"Aright, let's test it," he said furiously. "Let's test your feelings for me."

"Go ahead, do whatever you want," Ayla snapped.

James cleared his throat and looked as though he was attempting to get into character. He looked up at Ayla and began. "So, I was with this girl once who had, like, the best body in the world. She had..."

And for the next few minutes, Ayla listened as he went on and on about his variety of past girlfriends and flings—in explicit, inappropriate detail—until he finally finished and looked at her.

"So, you jealous?" He asked pointedly and she shook her head.

"We've both dated other people," she said simply. "There's no use in acting like we haven't."

"See, if you actually cared about me, you'd be so jealous right now!" He bellowed.

"Maybe I'm just not a jealous type of person!" Ayla shrieked back, furious at this accusation.

"Ayla, I just compared her...you know...girl-parts...to yours!" He shouted, but he blushed furiously as he avoided using any specific words.

Ayla stifled a snort at his change in tone, but her eyes remained angry. "Just because I'm not jealous doesn't mean that I don't care about you, James. It just means that I know that those girls are in your past, not your future." She shrugged simply. "I've chosen to trust you here."

Instead of answering, James stepped forward and crushed his lips to hers, kissing her passionately and lifting her into his arms as they stumbled back toward her room.

X.

Ayla and James cut through the Leaky Cauldron to get to Diagon Alley, completely at peace since their fight that morning.

"There they are," James pointed out as he spotted his family.

"Hey there, Head Boy!" Harry exclaimed, smiling.

"We're so proud of you, James," Ginny said sincerely, hugging her eldest son.

"How was your week?" Harry asked.

"Oh, it was good," James said offhandedly, glancing at Ayla.

Albus seemed to have noticed something in his tone; his eyebrows shot up and he gave Ayla a questioning look.

"James, we need to take you to Madam Malkin's," Ginny told her eldest son. "Albus, Lily, Ayla, we'll meet you in Flourish&Blotts in fifteen minutes."

Harry, Ginny, and James set off toward the robe shop, James glancing over his shoulder every few seconds.

Ayla walked with Albus and Lily as Lily chatted about the past week that Ayla had been gone.

"Ooh, look how cute that owl is!" Lily squealed, peering through a window. "Let's go in!"

Lily made a beeline for the back of the store, while Albus and Ayla stayed by the door. Albus picked up a bottle of owl food and turned it around in his hands, looking at it.

"So, let me guess," he said, skimming the label on the bottle. "You guys were always either fighting or hooking up."

Ayla raised her eyebrows, glancing at him. "How'd you figure that out?" She mumbled.

"Because I know my brother," he said, setting the bottle down and fiddling with the lock on an owl cage. "He's not an easy person to get along with, and he hates carrying on a fight for longer than necessary." He turned to Ayla, looking curious. "So, did you guys...you know, take any big steps after those fights?"

Ayla blushed, busying herself with a booklet on owls. "No, it was just...you know...snogging and stuff. Nothing huge happened of anything."

Albus nodded, looking away. "Oh," he mumbled lamely, unsure of what to say.

"I told him I wasn't ready," Ayla continued hastily and Albus looked at her.

"O-oh," he stammered uncomfortably. "W-well, that's good, I guess."

Ayla nodded, equally uncertain. "So, um, anyone you've got your eye on?"

Albus shook his head, breaking eye contact. "Nope, no one for me."

Unsure of what to say, Ayla busied herself by comparing brands of owl food.

"Hey, you ready to go?" Lily asked cheerily as she reappeared.

"Yeah, sure," Ayla said, setting down the owl food back on the shelf and following her out of the store with Albus behind her.

They walked to Flourish&Blotts to meet Harry, Ginny, and James, who were already there.

They left Diagon Alley several hours later—after a trip to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes—with a very heavy load of books and supplies.

The next morning, they took a Portkey to King's Cross Station and crossed subtly onto Platform 9 3/4.

"Have a great year," Ginny said sweetly, tearing up slightly as she always did when she saw her children leaving for Hogwarts. "My Head Boy," she said with a sentimental smile, her hand reaching up to touch James's cheek.

James blushed and looked around to make sure no one was watching. "Mom..." He muttered sheepishly.

Ginny kissed each of her children and hugged Ayla, and they all boarded the train and found a compartment.

"Wonder where the others are," Lily mused, looking around.

"Maybe they're on their way," Ayla reasoned, gazing out the window.

"Hey!" Came a voice and Ayla turned to see Hugo and Liam in the doorway. She leapt up to hug them both and saw that Brad was standing behind them.

"What are _you _doing here?" She asked coolly and Brad held up his hands, stepping back slightly.

"I, um, I've been talking to him," Lily said quietly and Albus looked furious. "We'll never be back together, but there's no sense in ruining the group over his stupid decisions. I figured we could just put it in the past and move on."

Ayla smiled softly at her best friend, putting her arm around her. "That's really strong of you, Lil," she said genuinely and Lily smiled.

Brad took a seat at the very edge of the compartment, in the opposite corner from Lily.

"Guess what?" James asked to break the tension. He grinned and held up his Head Boy badge to Liam, Brad, and Hugo.

"Oh, God, it was bad enough that you were a prefect!" Hugo groaned jokingly.

James laughed and tucked his badge back in his pocket, relaxing back in his seat.

"How's José getting to Hogwarts?" Albus asked as the train began to move.

"He's getting escorted by a Professor that's coming to Juvie to pick him up. I don't know who, but it's one of the teachers at Hogwarts," Ayla explained.

"So, is he totally done with his punishment?" Liam asked, leaning forward.

"Not exactly; he'll be on a sort of probation. If he does anything at all against the rules, he'll probably be back there. So he's got to be careful."

"I give him two days, tops," James grumbled and Ayla gritted her teeth and fixed her eyes out the window.

Hours later, the train rolled to a stop in front of Hogwarts. It had begun to rain lightly on the train ride, and they dashed to the carriages before they could get wet.

Ayla pulled Brad aside before they could leap into the carriage. "Look, Brad, I know Lily is willing to put the past behind her and I admire her for that." She looked around to make sure no one was listening before continuing. "But I still don't trust you. You'd better not hurt her again."

"I'm not going to hurt her again," he muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking away.

"I'll see to it that you don't," she said rather formally, and was pleased to see that Bradley's eyes bulged in fear, clearly remembering the last time she had gotten back at him for hurting her best friend. He nodded, gulping, and stepped up into the carriage followed by Ayla. Ayla sat down on James's lap and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against him.

"So, Ayla, anyone from Sunnydale coming this year?" Albus asked in an undertone so the others couldn't hear him.

"Not that I know of," she said thoughtfully. "I'm actually surprised that there were even three last year," she explained. "I mean, there's only a few ways to get a magical education after being in Sunnydale: your parents come to terms with it, you get taken into a different home, you break out of the place, or someone comes and gets you out. Most of those kids never get to come here."

Albus closed his eyes momentarily and blew out his breath, trying to imagine his life without Hogwarts.

The carriages stopped in front of the castle and they all hopped out, heading up to the front door. They filed into the Great Hall and took their seats at the Gryffindor table. James departed to wait in the chamber behind the Hall until they announced his title of Head Boy.

Ayla sat down next to Albus, and Brad sat on her right. She noticed that he was holding his hands defensively over his lap as though scared Ayla might hurt him. The corner of her mouth twitched in satisfaction and pride as they all watched the sorting.

"Is it just me or do they look even tinier than the first years last year?" Albus whispered and Ayla giggled. "I'm serious!" Albus exclaimed, but he was fighting a smile. "They're, like, _fetuses_!"

Ayla buried her head in her arms, trying to muffle her laughter with her sleeves. Albus gave her a satisfied grin and turned to McGonagall, who was standing behind the podium and looking reproachfully at the students.

"Attention!" She called, clearing her throat. "The heads of houses will now announce the prefects for each house."

Ayla watched and did not recognize any of the names as fifth-year students were presented in front of them. Finally, McGonagall returned to the podium to announce the Head Boy and Girl.

"The Head Boy this year is James Potter of Gryffindor House," she said sharply, but her lips stretched even thinner as she suppressed a smile. Students all around the hall burst into applause, and the only silent table was that of Slytherin as James emerged from the chamber and burst into the Great Hall. "And the Head Girl is Ravenclaw's Lisa Worschid." There was a round of applause from the Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor tables. McGonagall sat down and the tables filled with food.

James came down to sit with them and shoveled a large pile of food onto his plate.

"Congratulations, James," Ayla said, smiling and James grinned.

"Thanks, Ayla," he said, and as he gazed at her in the dim light of the Great Hall, he felt a deep , warm feeling in his heart that he had never experienced before.

X.

Once classes had started up again, James began to worry about his Quidditch team. "Now Louis is gone; who's going to be seeker?" He asked helplessly to Albus and Ayla, staring up at the ceiling.

"Maybe you'll get someone really good at the tryout," Ayla said encouragingly and James shook his head, holding the sign-up sheet in his hand.

"No one has signed up to try out for Seeker," he said sadly. "They all want to be keepers, beaters, and chasers, but no one wants to take on the single most important position on the team," he complained, an angry edge taking over his voice.

"Too bad we don't anyone from last year's team who made a really good seeker," Albus said sarcastically and James immediately realized what he meant.

"Ayla!" He exclaimed. "You played Seeker once when Louis was in the hospital wing!"

"Yeah..." Ayla said cautiously, unsure of what was coming next.

"How would you feel about moving from Chaser to Seeker?" Before Ayla could answer, James reconsidered, looking anxious. "Oh, but then we'd lose the D'Orazio Dive..." He muttered.

"I could try it, I guess," Ayla said, shrugging. "I sort of like playing Chaser, though."

"Well, the thing is sometimes I'd want you as Seeker, and sometimes as Chaser. Like, against Hufflepuff, I'd want you as Seeker, because their Chasers are horrible so we don't need the D'Orazio or anything like that. But their Seeker is amazing, and you've got a better broom and you're a great seeker. But against Slytherin, I might want you as a Chaser because even though their seeker is good too, their Chasers are incredible. And we need all the tricks we can get against them." His face lit up as he came to a conclusion. "Of the Chasers that try out tomorrow, I'll see if any of them can play Seeker too! That way, you two can rotate!"

"Is that allowed?" Ayla asked curiously and James nodded.

"As long as I give the roster to Madam Hooch one week before each match, I can have people play wherever I want."

"Alright, awesome," Ayla agreed. "I guess I can see which one I like better. I've only played seeker that one time, though."

"And if I recall correctly, you won it for us," Albus told her, grinning.

"Well, I'm going to bed," James announced, standing up. "You two should get some sleep too before Quidditch tryouts. Just because you're my brother, and you're my girlfriend," he said, gesturing to each of them, "doesn't mean I'll play favorites." He laughed and kissed Ayla, then headed off to his dormitory.

X.

Ayla awoke early for Quidditch tryouts and headed down to the pitch, gripping her broom in her left hand. The tryouts ran the same way as last year; they practiced as a team before practicing individually. Ayla saw James pull aside a boy who looked to be in his fifth or sixth year and speak to him in a low voice. The boy nodded after a moment and James clapped him on the back and walked past him to talk to Professor Longbottom, who was observing tryouts as he had done the year before. After they were finished conversing, James stood in front of the crowd of Gryffindors trying out.

"Okay, our Keeper, Cormac McLaggen, will be returning as Keeper again this year for his final year at Hogwarts," James announced, consulting his clipboard. "Our Chasers will be Natalie Peakes and Quinn Logan, both returning from last year."

The Gryffindors seemed to be wondering why he had only announced two Chasers. There was a murmured confusion that rippled through the crowd before James continued.

"The Beaters will be myself and Albus Potter," James declared with a grin and Albus smiled. "And, finally, fourth-year Ayla Torres and fifth-year Connor DeLitworth will be taking turns playing both seeker and chaser."

Ayla beamed at James and he grinned back at her.

"Oh, and guys, we'd better win the house cup this year," he announced over the new team's cheering. "We won last year, and this is my last year as Captain, so...you know, work hard and all that."

The rejected students shuffled back to the castle, while the new team celebrated on the field.

James slung his arm around James and kissed the side of her head. "Congratulations," he said, beaming.

Ayla gazed up at him and felt a strange feeling in her heart. In that moment, she couldn't believe that she had ever doubted her feelings for James; that she had ever been with anyone else. In that moment, everything fell into place. In that moment, everything was perfect.

X.

On the morning of the Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor Quidditch match, Ayla sat nervously in the locker rooms, shaking her leg subconsciously.

"Remember, guys, Hufflepuff's chasers are awful, their seeker is incredible, and their keeper is pretty damn good as well. So, Ayla, you'd better catch the snitch."

Ayla's leg began to shake more violently and she bit her lip until she felt blood oozing into her mouth.

"Don't be worried," Albus whispered from his place beside her. "Think of how amazing you were last time you played Seeker. And you hadn't even practiced that time. So you'll be fine."

Ayla smiled at him but still felt the nagging anxiety in the pit of her stomach. She heard Madam Hooch announcing the Gryffindor team and James leapt to his feet.

"Alright, it's time, guys!" He exclaimed, looking extremely eager. "Let's go!"

They filed out of the changing rooms and onto the field where James shook hands with the Hufflepuff Captain.

"Let the match begin!" Madam Hooch called and Ayla soared up into the air.

She hovered above the pitch, squinting around to find the snitch. Seth was announcing the game again, the microphone held in his right hand.

"And Hufflepuff Chaser Marie Ventolle has the Quaffle...and she dropped it..." Seth announced, peering over the podium to see the game. "And Gryffindor chaser Connor DeLitworth has taken a shot—oh, but Tony Rickett, Hufflepuff keeper, has saved it! It's alright, nice try, Connor, you'll get it next time, mate—"

"Seth!" McGonagall barked and he fell silent.

"And now Hufflepuff chaser Justin Applebee catches the Quaffle—oh, but he dropped it as well—oh, but Hufflepuff Chresbaun has caught it and taken a shot! And Gryffindor Keeper McLaggen has made an excellent save with the end of his broom! Awesome!"

"I'm warning you!" Came McGonagall's voice again and Seth grinned sheepishly.

Ayla continued to hover above the pitch and the score reached 40-30 with Hufflepuff in the lead.

"I thought you said they sucked!" Albus hissed to James as both of them flew past Ayla to go after a Bludger.

"I thought they did!" James called back loudly enough for Ayla to hear him as they zoomed away.

James flew back after he had hit the Bludger toward one of the Hufflepuff chasers.

"You haven't seen it yet?" He panted and Ayla shook her head. "You'd better," he grumbled and flew away.

"Really helpful, James," Ayla muttered once he was gone, returning her eyes to the pitch in search of the fluttering gold snitch. She suddenly saw Max Fleet, the Hufflepuff Seeker, lurch forward and she immediately followed him. When she reached the tail of his broom, she saw him reaching for the Snitch.

_It's over, _she thought to herself, and felt as though her heart had been shattered. _He's going to catch the snitch, and I'll have let everyone down. _

But then a thought occurred to her as she watched Fleet stretch his arm further as he grasped for the tiny gold ball. _If I can flip over someone to grab the Quaffle from their hands, I could flip in front of them to get the snitch first, couldn't I? It's basically the same thing, isn't it? _

She took a deep breath and launched herself off her broom, flipping through the air twice over Max Fleet. She grasped the snitch in her cold hand and just barely missed the end of her broom as she landed. She screamed as she began to plummet through the air, grasping to find something to hold onto. She felt a broom handle in her other hand and was too scared to open her eyes to see whose it was. She swung herself up onto the broom and finally opened one eye to find herself looking once again at Max Fleet.

"Thanks," she breathed, hopping off his broom and onto James's, who had flown over to get her.

Fleet landed with the rest of the Hufflepuff team and they all began bellowing at Madam Hooch furiously.

"That's got to be some sort of penalty; she landed on my broom!" Fleet shouted.

Ayla and the rest of the Gryffindor team froze, as did the audience, as they all waited for Madam Hooch's verdict. She was flipping through a rule book while trying to tune out the Hufflepuffs shouting at her.

"There is no rule against it," she declared. The Hufflepuffs bellowed in fury, while the Gryffindor students poured onto the field and Albus and James lifted Ayla onto their shoulders and sprinted around the field, hollering in excitement.

Ayla hopped down from their shoulders after they had returned to their previous spot and James threw his arms around her, spinning her around. "You were amazing!" He exclaimed, and kissed her passionately.

Ayla beamed, looking up at him. Albus appeared, grinning broadly.

"I can't believe you just did that," he said to Ayla. "It was like a D'Orazio but with the snitch instead of the Quaffle...it was awesome."

"If we have _that _move, we're bound to win the cup this year," James said, grinning. "GO GRYFFINDOR!"

X.

Ayla walked hand-in-hand to her History of Magic Class. They strode slowly, intertwining their fingers through each other's. James cursed suddenly and Ayla followed his gaze to see José wrestling with a Slytherin boy. They were both on the ground, José hunched over the other boy, his fist swinging back to punch him again.

"Hey!" Ayla cried, yanking José off the boy roughly by the back of his shirt. She flung him back against the stone wall, pressing her hands on his chest to restrain him. James held the Slytherin back against the other wall while José bellowed curses at him. "Hey, you're on probably, remember!" Ayla shouted at José, pressing him back harder against the wall.

José spat in the direction of the Slytherin and looked at Ayla, a purely vicious expression on his face.

"What's going on?" Came a familiar bark, and McGonagall strode into sight. José groaned and Ayla dropped her hands from his chest.

"Professor McGonagall, you don't understand, he was—" José stammered, seeing the livid look on the headmistress's face.

"Mr. Ballar, come with me," she said coldly, then turned to the other boy. "James, you may escort him to my office and have him wait outside until I have finished with Mr. Ballar."

James nodded, still keeping a tight grip on the back of the boy's robes at the nape of his neck and towed him off after McGonagall.

Stunned, Ayla stepped through the door into History of Magic—several minutes late, having been held up by the scene in the hallway—and sat with Lily, Liam, Hugo, and Brad. Professor Binns had begun teaching and he was reading dully in his monotone out of the textbook on his podium.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Lily whispered, and all four turned to her, concerned.

Ayla glanced over to check that Professor Binns was still droning on, then swiveled in her seat and leaned forward to talk to her friends and lowered her voice to a serious whisper. "José just got in a fight. He's in McGonagall's office now."

Liam's chair creaked slightly as he leaned forward abruptly. "Wait, isn't he on probation?"

Ayla nodded nervously, biting her lip. "Yeah," she said quietly. "There's no way they're letting him off the hook this time."

Lily put her hand comfortingly on Ayla's shoulder and Ayla smiled feebly.

"I just can't believe it," she murmured. "I mean, last time—when he almost got expelled—I thought he realized how much he needed Hogwarts, and I thought that would teach him to keep his nose clean for a while."

"I guess he was faking that whole epiphany," Hugo said sadly, sitting back.

Ayla shook her head stubbornly. "No, I saw the look on his face. I know him, and I know that he really was serious about getting back on the right track. Something must have _really _set him off." She thought for a moment. "The Slytherin must've said something about his whole family situation. That's really the only thing that would have made him act out so badly."

"Are they going to send him back to Juvie?" Liam asked, scooting forward on his chair. "Or just expel him?"

"Probably both," Ayla said soberly. "I don't think there's any way out of it this time, guys. He's gone for good this time."

Brad, Liam, and Lily all sighed sadly and turned back to their desks to sleep through the boring lecture. Lily laid her head on her arms and closed her eyes, Liam leaned his head against his fist, his elbow rested on the table, and Brad slunk down in his seat, stretching his legs forward and tilting his head back, and was snoring within seconds.

Hugo leaned forward in his seat to whisper to Ayla. "Just like that, you're giving up?" He demanded and Ayla looked at him helplessly.

"I don't know what else I can do, Hugo," she admitted. "He violated his probation; they'll send him to Juvie regardless of what I say."

"Just because he goes back to Juvie doesn't mean he can never come back to Hogwarts once his sentence is up," Hugo returned easily. "You got it to happen last time; you can do it again."

Ayla shook her head, turning away as tears welled up in her eyes. "Yeah, and then he ignored me for two and a half months while he was there. He wouldn't even see me when I visited, and he's hardly spoken to me since the year started. He's changed."

"Please," Hugo scoffed. "Yeah, he's made mistakes and he's been getting in trouble and all that, but he's the same kid that you grew up with, and he just needs you to come through! He might not realize yet how much he appreciated it when you saved him before, but he'll come around when he figures out that you're the only one there for him!"

Ayla sniffled to hold back her tears and Hugo shook his head.

"You can't do that; you can't give in, Ayla. You've got to stay angry at José, angry at McGonagall, angry at the Slytherin kid, angry at everyone, and go in there and fight for him!"

Ayla turned to him, her eyes widening in surprise at his attitude towards the situation. She smiled softly. "I owe you one."

He nodded once, smiling strongly, and sat back in his seat. Ayla stretched her hand into the air and cleared her throat loudly.

"Professor Binns, I need to use the restroom."

He waved his hand dismissively and Ayla stood up and darted from the room, barreling down the corridor and hurtling up the steps. She ran into James and the Slytherin outside McGonagall's office.

"Is he still in there?" Ayla demanded, panting, and James nodded, looking confused. Ayla pounded on the door and flung it open, marching confidently into McGonagall's office.

"Torres!" McGonagall barked, looking irritated. "You cannot barge in here while I am in a private meeting with a student."

"Oh, don't let me stop you," Ayla said, folding her arms and looking straight into the headmistress's beady eyes. "José is family to me; whatever you have to say to him, you can say in front of me."

"I must ask you to leave, Miss Torres."

Ayla stood her ground, not breaking eye contact. "I'm not going anywhere," she said simply. "I'm not leaving his side."

Normally, Ayla would have quailed under the look McGonagall gave her, and the only thing that fueled her courage was the memories flashing through her head of her childhood with José.

"We have security here, you know-" McGonagall began, coming around her desk to stand by the door. "If I chose to, I could call them here and they would force you out of this office," she said sharply, but her attitude remained calm.

"Go ahead," Ayla said, flopping down in the chair next to José and crossing her legs.

McGonagall seemed rather flustered, and looked down as she went back to sit at her desk. Ayla made brief eye contact with José and winked assuringly.

"Miss Torres, if there truly is no way that you will leave, then please state your case."

Ayla uncrossed her legs and sat forward. "Everything that I said the last time is still true. Look, I know José got in a fight, but other than that, he's been a lot better this year. He's clearly learned his lesson, and being at Hogwarts is helping him get back on the right track. It's going to be a process, but he's going to get better, I _know _he will."

"If you claim that Hogwarts is helping him so much, then how do you explain the fight today? That is certainly not within our disciplinary guidelines here at Hogwarts," McGonagall challenged coolly.

"I know him, and he's surely learned from what happened. That Slytherin kid must have said something that really hurt him, or he wouldn't have reacted like that," Ayla said earnestly. "How'd it start, José?"

"I'd just asked him before you arrived," McGonagall said irritably. "He won't speak of it."

Ayla turned to José, bewildered. "José, you've got to tell us; it's the only thing that could help you get out of this!"

José dropped his head into his hands, messing up his hair vigorously in frustration. "I can't talk about it," he growled.

Ayla lowered her voice and began speaking in Spanish. McGonagall listened, brow furrowed, searching for some word she might be able to decipher. When their several-minute conversation was over, José took a shaky breath and turned to face the headmistress.

"He said I killed my birth parents," José whispered and McGonagall leaned forward, intrigued. Ayla stared at him, open-mouthed, waiting for an explanation. "I looked them up; I found out their names," he continued, staring at a speck of dust on the floor. "I hired someone to drive me to meet them, but when I got to their house, they were just leaving. So we followed them. But the driver I hired...he was drunk. I could tell but I didn't do anything to stop him from driving. He, uh, he crashed into their car. And they both...they passed on."

Ayla felt tears dropping onto her cheeks and she pulled José into her arms, not knowing what else to do.

"When was this?" McGonagall inquired, looking very emotional.

"The day I got let out of Juvie," he whispered, his voice cracking. "That's why I was late coming to Hogwarts. And I don't know how _he_," he began, gesturing toward the door to indicate that he was taking about the Slytherin, "found out about that, but I guess he did." He looked down, his arms pressed over his stomach as though he felt nauseous. "That's what he said, he called me a murderer, so I jumped on him and hit him." He stood up, looking at McGonagall and wiping the tears from his face as though he couldn't believe they were there. "And I'm _sorry_, I'm sorry I got in a fight, I'm sorry I tried to steal from Hogsmeade last year, I'm sorry I'm not a good student and I'm sorry that I'm hard to discipline, and I'm trying to change, I am!"

Ayla looked up at him, her tears still obstructing her eyes as she watched the little boy she grew up with finally standing up for himself.

"I know that I'm a total wreck, and I know that I don't deserve another chance—hell, I didn't even deserve the last one—but I'm begging you to just let me try again." He held up his hands in surrender. "No fights, no skipping class, no stealing, no lies, I promise." He looked earnestly at McGonagall. "Just one more chance."

There was a very pregnant pause as McGonagall eyed José appraisingly. "_One_, Ballar, _one _chance."

Ayla squealed and leapt up, hugging José tightly.

"I won't let you down," José assured her, beaming.

"You'd better not," she said sternly, but the corner of her mouth twitched as she fought her smile. "Now go, back to class, both of you."

X.

The bell rang as Ayla was leaving McGonagall's office, and she burst into the common room with José, where their friends were waiting.

"Well?" Albus asked eagerly, clearing having heard from the others. James was not back yet and Ayla assumed he was escorting the Slytherin away from McGonagall's office.

Ayla grinned, wrapping her arm around José. "He's off the hook."

"Yeah!" Albus cried, standing up and smiling ear-to-ear. "Congratulations!"

José went to talk to the rest of the group, while Hugo approached Ayla with a crooked smile.

"See?" He said, grinning.

"Thank you," Ayla said sincerely. "I needed to hear everything that you said. I owe you big time."

Hugo smiled to say it was no problem.

"I think you're the only one besides me who really wants him to stay," she realized and Hugo looked down. "I mean, I know why _I _care about him so much, but...why do you?" She asked curiously.

"I..." Hugo looked to the left and Ayla was shocked to see that there were tears swimming in his eyes. "I think I might be..." He cleared his throat and looked at his sneakers uncomfortably. "I think I like him."

Ayla's eyes widened, stunned. "O—oh. I-I didn't know."

Hugo nodded, a tear splashing onto his cheekbone. "Ayla, I think I might be gay."

Ayla hugged him and she felt his tears dampening the shoulder of her shirt.

"I haven't told anyone yet," Hugo continued shakily and Ayla tightened her arms around him.

"It doesn't make a difference," she assured him. "Thank you for telling me," she continued softly.

"What if they never speak to me again?" He mumbled as he pulled back, gesturing toward their friends.

Ayla shook her head, putting her hand on his arm comfortingly. "They wouldn't do that, Hugo, I can promise you that none of them will care."

"But what if they do?" He continued, his voice rising up with panic.

"They_ won't_," she said firmly. "Hugo, you're one of the best friends I've ever had, and we all love you. If you proved one thing today, it's that people don't give up on the people that they truly care about. They won't give up on you just like you made sure I didn't give up on José." She met his eyes and smiled encouragingly. "You deserve to be happy, Hugo, no matter who you're with. And your real friends aren't going to care who that is as long as you're happy with them."

Hugo smiled feebly. "Thanks, Ayla. And you wouldn't tell—"

"Never," Ayla interrupted. "Never."

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